Forgotten Memories
by sakura240
Summary: Hotaru's village was caught on fire before Mikan even had a chance to go after Hotaru. Then Hotaru received a letter saying Mikan died...and a few years later, Hotaru moved on but then another student arrived...and looks exactly like Mikan...
1. Prologue

Kura: Hiya everybody; new story time! .

Berry: Summary.

**Before Mikan has even tried to attempt to follow Hotaru, a large fire has started in their small village. Trying to help her Grandfather out of it, the two got trapped. By the time the fire was put out, the two disappeared. Believing that the two died, a message was sent to Hotaru, making her go into depression. She was able to get closer with her brother as he comforted her, along with her favorite product and his friend. And then, a few years pasted with Hotaru moving on and new students come in. But one has the same kind eyes as Mikan…the only difference: she has longer greyish brown hair and does not know Hotaru.**

Kura: Wow, long summary. *peers at story paper*

Berry: …

Mikan: …So…I died…?

Kura: *shrugs* let's start! I don't own Gakuen Alice!

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

"Hurry, get the children out of there!"

"Over here; bring them here!"

"MOMMY, HELP!"

"GET MY CHILD OUT OF THERE! PLEASE, HELP HER!"

"Get the elderly out of the village!"

"There's a child in the house!"

"AHH!"

"HELP!"

"Save them; hurry!"

"No, the house is collapsing!"

"MY CHILD IS IN THERE!"

"PLEASE MISS, STAY HERE! WE'LL SAVE YOUR CHILD!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"MOMMY!"

"It's collapsing!"

"Hurry!"

"Get her out of there!"

"NO!"

"HELP!"

"AH!"

"MOMMY!"

**~.~.~**

"Is everybody here?"

"No, there are still some men and women there!"

"Wait, look, people are coming!"

"Mommy, daddy's back!"

"Oh, honey! You're okay!"

"Is everybody here?"

"No, Mikan and her grandfather aren't here yet. There are still others there too!"

"WHAT? BUT WE THOUGHT THE VILLAGE WAS EMPTY!"

"Wait, so Mikan-chan is still there?"

"And her jii-chan?"

"WE HAVE TO SAVE THEM!"

**~.~.~**

"Jii-chan? Jii-chan? Where are you?"

"Mikan, come on! We have to hurry! The village is about to collapse!"

"Jii-chan! I can't breathe!"

"Mikan, grab my hand!"

"KYA!"

"MIKAN!"

"JII-CHAN!"

"DAMN IT! Mikan, don't worry, I'll be fine! Just get out of here!"

"NO! I WON'T LEAVE YOU HERE!"

"MIKAN, JUST GO!"

"NO!"

"MIKAN!"

**~.~.~**

"No…the village!"

"It's…it's gone…"

"You don't think that they're…still in there do you?"

"What if…What if they got trapped?"

"Come on men, we have to see if they're still alive!"

"Oh, please; dear God of Heaven, please let Mikan and Mamoru-san and everybody still be alive!"

**~.~.~**

"There she is."

"Come on, we have to bring her with us."

"But what if they-"

"It doesn't matter. If we bring Mikan with us, at least they'll know not to attack her."

"…What about that man?"

"We have to bring him too. I owe him that much for taking care of Mikan."

"Okay."

"Is he still alive?"

"Yeah, just unconscious…there's a person with the Healing Alice, right?"

"No…but I have an extra Alice stone. It has the Healing Alice. We should be able to heal him and Mikan with it."

"Well that's good then."

"Yeah…"

A woman hugged the young unconscious brunette who had several burned skin and her skin was dark from the ashes that had covered her. Her breathing was shallow and the woman held onto her tighter. Besides the woman was a man, carrying an older man bridal-style and the man too had a shallow breathing with his skin burned and dark with the ashes as well.

"Come on, we have to go."

"Yeah…"

Then the woman touched the man and they disappeared, leaving no trace that they were there in the first place. They had disappeared…along with Mikan and the older man.

* * *

><p>Kura: Wow…<p>

Mikan: …So…did I die…?

Kura: You might.

Mikan: EH!

Berry: Actually, you did.

Mikan, Hotaru, Natsume, Ruka: EHHHH!

Kura: I hope everybody liked the story so far! Sorry if it's a little confusing but…I just wanted voices in it…it was only the ending part that had a bit of viewing…I hope it was still okay. Please review! ^^


	2. I won't leave

Kura: Hello! Time for the new chapter!

Berry: …

Kura: Yeah…uh…*looks at story paper* I hope it is okay…oh, and review replies!

_**Pwenie: **__Thanks for thinking it was interesting! I hope that this chapter is satisfactory to you as well! XD_

_**Akatsuki Utaou: **__Hmmm…maybe it is, maybe it isn't. XD Thank you for the compliment too and I hope that you will enjoy this update! :)_

_**Ms Fantasy Freak Lolololololol: **__thank you for that compliment and please do enjoy this next update! XD_

Kura: Well, let's start, shall we? ^^

Berry: …eh. Kura doesn't own Gakuen Alice. The day she does is when pigs will fly, hell will turn all sparkles with flowers and cuteness and heaven will turn dark, ugly, evil, and God will hate us all.

Kura: …Well…didn't have to be so mean about that…sniff…and it will not happen because Hell and Heaven cannot turn out like that!

Berry: That's the whole point baka.

Kura: T^T

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 – I won't leave<strong>

It was a normal day for the class 2B in the Elementary Division, where children would do their usual "tomfoolery" as their math teacher, Jinno-sensei, would often call it. And there was no one else to experience the horror that they gave except for the poor substitute teacher who stayed in a corner of the room, weeping in silence.

Then, the door of the class slid open and their real teacher, Narumi-sensei came in. Everybody turned to him, not because of his…usual strange clothes but because he, for the first time since the kids had seen him, had a grim smile on his face. He walked in, along with another.

The other had raven black hair and violet eyes. He wore glasses and he had a stolid expression on his face.

The room was silent when the two stepped in. Every eye ignored their teacher and stared at the high school student in front of them who merely ignored them as he searched the room.

The person's eyes rested on the Ice Queen of the school: Imai Hotaru who felt the gaze and looked up with a raised brow before she returned to her invention. Everybody could feel that the man suddenly felt irritated.

Then he walked up to Hotaru. She continued to ignore him. The class president, Tobita Yuu looked at Hotaru. "Imai-san, he's looking at you!" He whispered. "I think you should-"

"I don't care what you think I should do. I can do what I want." She said coolly. The class president, Yuu blushed and nodded. He looked away.

…_Imai-san…can be so cruel…and scary…_ He thought fearfully as he went over to some of his friends and together, they looked back at the scene in front of them.

Meanwhile, the man then reached into his pocket and pulled out…a letter…?

The students looked at it in confusion as he held it out to Hotaru. Hotaru finally stopped and looked at the letter. She looked up to the man.

"…Mother and father sent this…" He said softly.

Everybody suddenly gaped at the man. Then Hotaru's eyes widened.

"…You're…Subaru…niisan…?" She asked. The man, Subaru nodded and then took her hand and placed the letter in them. He gave a sad look at her.

"You should read this later…better not to be here…" He said. Then he turned and walked out.

The class was silent as Hotaru looked at the letter hesitantly. Her eyes widened slightly before she then stood up and left the classroom swiftly.

Everybody turned to Narumi for answers but he shook his head. "Gomen ne minna but this is for Hotaru-chan only." He said before he left the room.

The class then started to talk.

And during this, a blonde-haired boy with sea-blue eyes turned to his raven black haired friend who had his usual manga on top of his face. "Ne…Natsume, what do you think that was about…?"

The boy Natsume merely shrugged.

But the two both had strange feelings in their heart.

**~.~.~**

"…This…what…how…?"

In a Triple-Star room, a girl sat on her bed, her eyes looking over the letter with slight shock. She gave a frown and set the letter back on her desk that sat near her bed. She fell back to her bed and opened her eyes, looking at the ceiling.

The letter…told her…everything…

_**Dear Hotaru and Subaru,**_

_**I hope the both of you found each other. Hotaru, I hope you will love your brother as your parents did.**_

At this, Hotaru couldn't help but snort at that.

_**Also, I'm so sorry for not sending a letter in so long. The village had caught on fire-**_

Hotaru gasped softly at the sentence and a single thought ran through her mind. _Is everybody okay…?_

_**-and everybody is trying their best to fix the mess the fire had created. But afterwards, we will be starting the funeral-**_

Hotaru again, couldn't help but gasp.

_**-and send the ones who died into a peaceful afterlife. We had only hoped that we could get you out of the academy for this but they refused-**_

Hotaru scowled.

_**-and so we had to send you this instead…We hope that you can at least send your love to them from the academy…also, we have sent you a list of who had died…if you wish to look upon them. I just hope you won't be extremely saddened by this because even though they are gone, the ones we love will always be in our hearts. Don't try to do anything extreme…I'm sure you understand why we would say this.**_

_**Love, Mom and Dad**_

Hotaru's eyes widened upon remembering that sentence. She quickly got up and reached for her letter, looking through the pages of it. She frowned as all she saw were the contents of the letter.

"…I thought mother gave me-" Her sentence stopped when a folded paper fell out of the envelope and she slowly picked it up. Her hands slowly unfolded it.

_Why do I…feel so calm…?_ She thought as she then closed her eyes and breathed in and out. She then opened her eyes and looked at the list the paper shown.

_The people who died are…Amani Mariko…hmm, never knew her. Next are…Eminai Karimi and Eminai Daichi…huh…the twins died…their parents must be devastated…_

_Let's see…next is-_

Hotaru continued to skim through the paper and near the end, she gave a sigh. _That's good…the baka didn't get-_

Her thought stopped immediately as she stared at the last two names of the list. Her eyes stayed fixed upon the two names and her hands shook before she dropped the papers. However, the list stayed open, staring at the ceiling. Hotaru could still see that very name that shook her. Suddenly, a small tear appeared and fell down her cheeks as she continued to stare at the name of her best friend.

…_Sakura…Mikan…_

**~.~.~**

"Say, haven't you noticed…but she didn't come again today." Yuu looked at the vacant seat along with two others: Anna and Nonoko. They all shared the same worried expression and sighed sadly.

"Imai-san has been missing for a whole week now…" Yuu said.

Anna looked thoughtful. "Do you guys think something bad happened?"

"Remember that letter that her brother gave her?" Yuu and Anna nodded. "Well maybe whatever was in it made her unable to come to class!" Nonoko said.

The three continued to talk, all three wondering what to do.

"Maybe we should go to her room and cheer her up! I heard from her robot that something terrible did happen back at the village she was living at before coming here…"

"Anna-chan…she'll kill us if we go visit her…"

"Inchou is right on that Anna-chan…"

"Oh…yeah…"

While the three sighed in defeat, one boy was listening in on them; a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.

He gave a slight frown as he sat back onto his seat and looked towards the right in a seat lower down the class. It was empty…as it was the past few days. He clenched his fist softly while the bunny on his desk looked at him with worry.

"Ruka, what's wrong?"

The boy blinked and looked up to see his best friend in the school: Hyuuga Natsume; also known as the most feared in the entire school and the only Special Star in the elementary division. Ruka gave a small smile. "Nothing Natsume; I'm just glad that Imai's not gonna be taking any pictures for a while."

Natsume nodded before sitting down next to his friend. "I see."

Ruka looked at his rabbit that suddenly hopped away from him. "Huh? Usagi, where are you going?" He asked. He watched as his bunny hopped on over to the empty seat and a single thought ran through his mind.

"_I don't hate you as much as the other idiots in this class…"_

Ruka frowned. "Why on earth did I remember her saying that?" He muttered softly.

Natsume lazily opened an eye and with it, looked at Ruka with curiosity. "What did you remember?"

The blonde haired boy shook his head, not hearing Natsume as he tried to get the girl out of his mind. _I'm not worried for that evil, dark, money-loving, rude, Devil of a woman! No way! She's done nothing but embarrass me since the day she came here!_ He thought angrily. Natsume raised a brow at this and looked at Koko who just happen to walk by.

"Oi, Yome, what's Ruka thinking about?"

Koko looked at Natsume with the same grin but with a disbelieving look in his eyes. "You want me to actually read your best friend's mind?" He asked. Hi grin suddenly widened and Natsume then felt regretful. "You can't take back what you've said Natsume! It doesn't matter if you're pretty much the most powerful person here; I don't care! If I get permission, I do it without guilt!" He cried out happily while turning to Ruka.

Natsume sighed and looked at Ruka as well.

Meanwhile, Koko couldn't help but give a small snicker. I suppose you would like to see what Ruka is saying, correct? Alright then, Koko will show you!

_(Ruka) GAH! THIS GIRL IS SO FUSTRATING! WHY AM I EVEN WORRIED? WHAT'S THERE TO WORRY? SHE'S PROBABLY PLANNING MY DEMISE RIGHT NOW! SHE'S EVIL! RUKA, STOP THINKING ABOUT HER! WHY CAN'T YOU STOP THINKING ABOUT HER! GAH! DARN IT! WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT HER WHEN SHE'S A DAMN-_

Koko gave another muffled snicker, deciding not to show us all what Ruka thought before turning to Natsume and whispering, "He's thinking about some girl. Apparently, he thinks that she's evil and would be thinking about his end right here."

Natsume sweat dropped. "…He's thinking about Imai…"

Koko blinked and tilted his head. "Really? Cause it seems like Ruka is very worried about that girl too that he can't stop thinking about her."

Natsume frowned. "…She was absent for a while…" _But why would Ruka be worried about her?_

"I have no idea!" Natsume stared at Koko who grinned happily and patted Natsume's back playfully like they were best of friends. "Well, gotta run! See ya!" He cried before running out of the room like his life depended like it.

Natsume stared at that empty space before he turned back to his best friend who continued to mutter things. Natsume sighed and patted Ruka's shoulder which then caused the said boy to freeze and turn sharply. Ruka relaxed and smiled. "What is it Natsume?"

"…" Natsume stayed silent for a moment then said, "Ruka, if you're worried, at least go and visit her."

Ruka blushed. "E-Eh?"

"NANI?" The two cringed at the loud screech and covered their ears. They turned to see the most annoying girl in the world…well, at least to them: Shouda Sumire. She had a horror-struck face on and was staring at Ruka with teary-eyes. "WHO IS IT?"

"W-What?" Ruka asked, backing away from the dark green haired girl.

Sumire's eyes suddenly had flames in them. "WHO COULD IT BE THAT DIRTIED YOUR MIND RUKA-SAMA? I'LL KILL HER! I'LL MAKE SURE SHE NEVER BOTHERS YOU AG- KYAAAAAA! MY HAIR!" Sumire suddenly screamed as black flames burst aflame on her hair and she ran out of the room trying to put it out. Ruka sighed and turned to Natsume with a smile.

"Thanks for that Natsume." Natsume nodded.

"She was annoying me anyway." Ruka sweat dropped. Natsume looked at him. "Besides, why are you worrying about Imai?" He muttered softly.

Ruka gave a small blush and gave a small glare to Natsume. "It's nothing! I'm just worried because it's the first time she would actually not take a picture of me and not sell it. It's nice, but strange as well…"

Natsume sat up and plopped his arm on the desk while placing his head on his hand with his cheek on his hand. "Interesting…is that all you're worried about; just because it's strange?" He asked nonchalantly.

Ruka shook his head furiously up and down. "Yes!"

Natsume sighed. "Whatever…"

**~.~.~**

"He says whatever…BUT HE DOESN'T MEAN THAT!" Ruka cried out, ruffling his hair with his hand furiously. He groaned and fell to the soft grass while looking up at the clouds as they passed by.

"…Seriously…it's all too strange…usually Imai would be sneaking pictures and running off while I have a lion chase her! Why isn't she doing anything?" He wondered aloud while he felt Usagi poked his cheeks.

"And what allows you to worry about my little sister like that?"

"Huh?" Ruka blinked and tilted his head up to see an older boy with the same, dark, cold violet eyes of Imai Hotaru: Imai Subaru. He gulped and sat up. "H-Hello…"

Subaru frowned. "Are you close to Hotaru?"

Ruka blinked. "W-What?"

"Answer my question."

"W-Well…not really…more like I'm a victim of her damn plan to earn money…" Ruka said as a gloomy aura surrounded him.

Subaru just stared before he gave a small sweat drop at the gloomy boy. _Poor boy…what in the world does Hotaru do…?_ He wondered. Then he knelt down. "Do you think badly of my sister?"

Ruka turned to look at him. "…Kinda…"

Subaru gave a low chuckle. "I don't really blame you."

Ruka gave another "huh?" before Subaru placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Don't think that bad of her. Right now, she's just not feeling very well. She heard the news of the village she was staying at before she came here has fallen into a tragic accident."

"Eh?" Ruka frowned. "Oh yeah…I heard about it but what really happened?"

Subaru shook his head. "If you want that answer, ask Hotaru…you may go and visit her if that's alright with you. She actually may need some help but I cannot go visit her today because of my duties."

"W-Wait…you want me to-"

"You catch on very fast. I appreciate your help." Subaru said as he stood up.

"B-B-But I never-"

"Please do visit her soon; she might go crazy if there is nobody to help her at the moment."

"B-But I-"

"Good day."

Ruka watched in defeat as the brother of perhaps his worst enemy left…and leaving that enemy in his very own care. Ruka slumped down and held his head in his hands. "God…what did I do to deserve this? Imai would sooner kill me then let me help her…" He whispered fearfully.

He sighed. "But I guess I should. At the very least, it would help ease my worry." Ruka said, standing up and walking back to the dorms…the girl's dorms…

**~.~.~**

He looked around nervously to see giggling faces of girls everywhere…oh how he hated giggling girls…they always try to do things to him and Natsume that get way out of hand that the two have to use their Alices. Of course, rarely ever since Imai came in and just gave those girls pictures of the boys but you could never be too sure of what giggling fan girls are thinking about…especially if the boy they like willing come to the girls dorm…

"Nogi-kun~" Ruka suddenly shivered and turned around to see a redhead giggling behind him. He felt himself stiffen and she came closer. "Are you here to see me, Nogi-kun?" She asked in a sugar sweet voice.

Ruka blinked as he suddenly remembered the "mission" he had here in the girl's dorms. "Ah, that's right…" The girl's eyes brightened. "Do you know where Imai Hotaru-san's room is?"

The girl fell down anime-style, confusing the poor boy. She quickly stood up. "Uh…Y-Yeah…but why do you want to see Imai? She's done nothing but stay in her room and-"

"Nogi-kun? What are you doing here?" Ruka turned to see a girl with wavy pink hair and aqua blue eyes. Then her face brightened. "Oh, are you here to see Hotaru-chan?" Ruka nodded slowly. She gave a bright smile. "Oh, that's so nice of you considering what she's done to you!"

…_Then again…why do I have to cheer her up? I have no reason since she's evil to me…_ He thought.

Then Anna grabbed Ruka's hand. "I'll take you to her!" She cried as she ran while pulling him along with that same bright smile on her face.

"Ah! Don't pull; it hurts!" Ruka cried.

Behind the two as they continued down the hall, the once giggling girls went into depression.

As soon as they got far away, Anna looked at Ruka with a smile. "You have to remember; you may never know what a giggling girl may be thinking of! So be careful! Oh, and…" She looked down. "Hotaru-chan…something bad has recently happened so she's terrible upset." She said sadly.

Ruka frowned. "…what happened?"

"That's for me to know and hopefully for you to never find out!" _Actually I really don't know…_ Anna thought, looking to the side.

…_I'd figure she'd say that…_ Ruka thought, not realizing that Anna wasn't telling the truth.

"Ah, here we are!" Ruka looked up to see themselves in a hallway with not as much doors. "She's a Triple Star so she lives here; not many have Triple Stars like her after all!" Anna explained.

Ruka nodded and they arrived at a door with the signs that said, "DON'T ENTER OR ELSE!" Suddenly, Ruka didn't feel so good as he stared at the sign with uneasiness. Anna smiled at his actions and patted his back encouragingly.

"Don't worry; Hotaru-chan only puts that up to, as she says, not bring any bakas near her." Again, Ruka felt terrible as he stared at the sign.

He sighed and turned to ask Anna something but all that greeted him was…nothing…He twitched angrily and sighed. "I brought this upon myself; might as well get it over with…" He muttered darkly as he knocked on the door.

Silence greeted him and he frowned before he knocked again, harder than before and then finally, the door opened. He prepared himself to ask if she was alright but stopped short when he found himself in front of some…girl…that he never met before with weird blue things sticking out of her head where her ears should've been.

"What the hell are you?" His question just flew out of his mouth and he cursed himself for being a rude idiot but it didn't stop his curiosity.

The girl looked at him confusingly. "I am Amanatsu." She replied and he blinked when he heard her voice. It was robotic and not human-like at all. Okay maybe a little but not much.

Ruka nodded slowly. "…Um…alright…

"I'm a robot that Hotaru-sama created when she first arrived here. Nice to meet you!" She said cheerfully.

"…R-Right…" Ruka muttered.

Amanatsu stared at Ruka. "Did you come to visit Hotaru-sama?" Ruka hesitated before nodding slowly. The robot smiled happily. "That's wonderful! Hotaru-sama has been so down lately…I've been getting so worried…" She said, looking sad all of a sudden.

_Can a robot even be sad…?_ Ruka wondered as Amanatsu invited him in. But Ruka stopped short when he saw the room.

It was hell. Glass was on the floor. The room was dark and unclean. The curtains were closed to avoid light from coming in and brightening the room. Clothes once worn were thrown to the ground without care. Ruka turned and stared at Amanatsu. "What the hell happened here?" He asked in a shocked tone.

Amanatsu sighed. "Hotaru-sama won't let me clean up. She says that the cleanliness makes her think of Mikan. She doesn't want to think of Mikan. But she still thinks of her. Her heart is sad. So this room is to become sad. Her mind is messy and broken. So this room is messy and broken. She doesn't want to be reminded of her life before she came to this academy. And Subaru-san is the only one that can calm her down to eat, take a shower, and sleep.

Ruka looked down. A strange feeling erupted in his chest and it hurt. He clenched his fist and looked up, a determined look in his blue eyes. "Where is Imai? I want to see her."

The robot looked at his warily before nodding slowly and led him to another room. Inside, the lights were turned off. The shades were completely closed like the living room but the room wasn't as messy as the other. In fact, it seemed like it was the only place she would keep clean. "Hotaru-sama…?"

A figure on the bed stirred. Ruka saw the figure's head slowly turn and he saw dull violet eyes staring at him. He shivered. There was nothing in those eyes; absolutely…nothing…

"Nogi…what are you doing here…?" He shivered again as he heard her voice. It was empty like her eyes. They held no emotion.

He stared into her lifeless eyes. "I wanted to see…how you were doing…"

"Why?"

"Huh?" Ruka looked at her eyes and shivered at the empty void-like eyes.

"Why…? You hate me."

A strange feeling erupted in Ruka's chest as he looked at her and heard that sentence. He bit his lip. That strange feeling hurt…He didn't like it. It was like it was trying to tell him something…something important. "I don't." He said without thinking.

For the first time he had ever met her, he saw a look of confusion and surprise before it disappeared and turned empty. "…What do you mean…?"

"…I don't hate you Imai." He looked at her eyes once again but this time, there was something…something else.

"…I don't…understand…why?"

Ruka shrugged, looking just as confused as she did. "…I…don't really know…but I really don't hate you…" He said rather softly. He continued to look at her violet eyes…her pretty violet eyes. He hated the fact that they were always so unemotional. It was like seeing a female Natsume but the fact that it was her really bothered him for a strange reason and he didn't know why.

Silence ran through them before Hotaru looked away. Ruka sighed. He took it as a sign to leave and made a move to do so when he heard a broken voice of the same girl he had just spoken to. He turned around sharply, his eyes wide with confusion. "W-What…?"

He froze when Hotaru suddenly lifted her head, looking at him but what really shocked him was seeing tears coming out of those usually confident and unemotional eyes. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was sniffing very softly. Her face was pale from staying indoors for so long but she was also red because she was crying…for the first time that he had ever met her. Her violet eyes were broken and emotion was finally shown in them.

The emotion of sadness…of loneliness…and loss…

"Don't leave me…"

Ruka couldn't believe his ears. THE ice queen of the elementary division of Gakuen Alice was crying in front of him and asking him to stay. He felt his face and neck go hot and even go to the tips of his ears. He wanted to deny his ears of what they heard but he knew that they heard correctly.

"Please…don't leave me…"

And his body moved. It moved without his permission over to where Hotaru was. Ruka tried to stop. He really did. But after seeing those eyes, his heart wasn't going to listen to his mind. Then, a second later, he found himself hugging the violet eyed girl who was still sobbing silently but he heard a soft gasp. He hugged her tighter and closed his eyes.

"I won't leave."

* * *

><p>Kura: Kawaii~<p>

Berry: Kawaii…

Kura: I love Hotaru x Ruka. It's cute. :D

Berry: indeed…

Kura: I hope you all liked that! :D Please do review! BYE-BYE and…GOOD NIGHT!


	3. Tears

Kura: Time for a new chapter minna-san! :)

Berry: Woohoo…

Kura: …right…time for review replies!

_**Akatsuki Utaou: **__Yup, it is. :) and honestly, I loved writing that part. :D And I do plan to have that pairing in here. And if I could, I will have a Mikan x Natsume here too because I just love that pairing too. :) Anyway, here's the next chapter; please do enjoy! XD PS, thanks for reviewing! XD_

_**Princess Mei Mikan: **__(Prologue)__hmmm…maybe she did, maybe she didn't…_

_(Chapter 1) ehehehehe; thanks for thinking so! :D And I hope you really like this update…it's kinda sad between parts…at least, I think it is._

_**CutiePrincessPikachu:**__ Yeah…that last part…I wish for that too. T^T Anyway, awesome penname (I love Pikachu's!) I hope that this chapter is good! XD_

_**xXxSamXChanxXx: **__yup; that pairing really is always cute. :) *insert heart* and I totally agree with you! They gotta put more Hotaru x Ruka things in the manga! That would be awesome! XD_

Kura: Yay, time to start! :)

Berry: Kura will never own Gakuen Alice because she could never have had the idea of the whole Gakuen Alice story.

Kura: …

Berry: Now it's time to start.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2 - Tears<strong>

Natsume looked at his best friend, Ruka, who was staring absentmindedly at Hotaru's empty seat. He frowned as Ruka sighed and continued to stare but this time, with a light blush on his cheeks. It was nearly invisible but he could see it…he could see it very well…and it confused him.

It had been nearly two weeks since he had Koko read Ruka's mind and since he had even told Ruka to go and visit the devil's daughter. He didn't even know what he was really thinking then but he wondered if he had made the right choice in telling Ruka to visit Hotaru.

Again Ruka sighed. Natsume's frown only became worse.

"Ruka…"

Ruka blinked and looked at Natsume. The blue eyes boy smiled. "What, Natsume?" He asked.

Natsume stared at him. "What's going on Ruka? Why are you staring at Imai's seat all the time?" He asked.

The effect was interesting. Ruka immediately turned pink and started to stammer like a love-sick boy. The best friend started to avoid Natsume's eyes and he was starting to sweat while his hold on his little bunny became tighter. Poor little bunny seemed to be suffocating…

Throwing another stare at him, Natsume sighed. "Ruka, you don't have to tell me…"

Ruka looked at Natsume, his nervousness fading. "…I…I'd rather tell you…" He looked down, releasing Usagi and stared at his lap with that blush still on his cheeks. "Ne…Natsume…why do you think a girl like…like Imai would become broken…like…upset…scared…and really sad…?" He asked softly.

Natsume raised a brow and replied, "That's unusual for you to say Ruka…"

The blonde boy smiled sheepishly before sighing again.

The fire-caster shook his head before punching Ruka slightly. "Try finding out yourself Ruka. But if it was me that became like that, it would be because I lost someone precious to me…like father…or Aoi…or even you baka." Ruka smiled at that sentence and Natsume smiled faintly back.

"Thanks Natsume…" Ruka grinned.

"Good, now stop looking like a love-sick idiot." Natsume said, smirking to himself, waiting for the reaction…

"I-I'm not!" There you go; Ruka blushing was the reaction he was waiting for. Natsume only chuckled very softly and shook his head before going back to his manga. Ruka only retorted to glaring at his best friend.

Meanwhile, across the room, Koko was giggling like mad while Sumire was staring at the boy with confused eyes. "Koko…what the hell is wrong with you…? You've been giggling like for what, five minutes?" She stated, eyeing the sandy haired boy warily.

Koko gave a sneaky grin. "Oh nothing…ehehehehehehehehe…" He continued to giggle and Sumire only frowned and stared at the giggling boy.

"…Right…"

In another ten minutes, class had ended, signaling the end of the day. Ruka quickly got out of his seat, gave a hasty 'see you later' to Natsume and darted out of the room in less than thirty seconds. Natsume only stared after him and sighed. Walking up to Koko, he asked, "What was Ruka thinking?"

Koko grinned mischievously. "As you thought, he was thinking about…" He turned around and whispered, "Hotaru-san…I think he's starting to become obsessed with her!" He giggled happily.

Natsume frowned and turned to look at Hotaru's seat. His red eyes shone with mischief before he turned to Koko. "Hey…we're gonna follow Ruka and you're coming with me to help me…" He said softly. "Meet me at the Sakura tree later…" He then walked out with several girls squealing their heads off.

The mind-reader grinned at the words he had listened to and giggled harder. "I am suddenly in love with this school." He said softly as he ran outside with glee.

At the same time, Ruka was running towards the girl's dormitory. With him, he carried a small box containing what he hoped that Hotaru would enjoy. Heck, he was certain that she would like it. After all…it contained…that. He grinned shyly and besides him, Usagi hopped along, looking at his human friend with curiosity.

Finally reaching his destination, he knocked on the door. In a few seconds, Amanatsu opened the door, smiling. "Hello Ruka-kun! Hotaru-san is sleeping now but you can come in!" She said quite happily.

Ruka nodded and walked in the familiar and now cleaner living room. He smiled as the sun beamed its sunlight into the room and filled it with warmth. But then he frowned and looked to the door of Hotaru's room. If only she could come out and enjoy the warmth as well…

But then suddenly, the very door opened and Ruka found himself staring at violet eyes. He blushed slightly before smiling and walking up to Hotaru. "Good morning sleepyhead!" He said teasingly.

Hotaru only stared at him with a 'what the hell' look.

Ruka chuckled. "I brought you something. I heard from Amanatsu that you like Sakura's a lot! That kinda surprised me cause I thought you liked this other flower and-" He stopped and a blush appeared on his cheeks before he held out the small box he carried. "There's a Sakura necklace…also with a mikan because Amanatsu said you really liked them."

However, he froze when he suddenly saw tears running down Hotaru's and instantly started to panic. "A-Ah! If you don't l-like it, I-I can just g-go and switch it-"

"No."

Ruka shut his mouth and looked at the sudden smiling face of Hotaru. "I like it…Thank you…" She said softly as she took the box in his hand. He shivered as he felt her fingers brush against his palm and blushed.

"Uh…Y-Yeah…" He said, before looking away, slight embarrassed.

Hotaru raised a brow, wondering if she should tease him but immediately went against it. Then, walking to a small sitting table in the room, she sat down and out of nowhere, pulled out an object.

Ruka stared at in curiosity. "What is that?" He muttered mostly to himself.

"It's an invention Hotaru-sama is currently making!" Ruka turned to look at a brightly smiling Amanatsu. "It's so wonderful; I haven't seen her working on an invention in such a long time!" She said. Ruka smiled and nodded in agreement. "However…" Blinking, Ruka looked at Amanatsu in confusion. "It's all thanks to you Ruka-kun!"

"Huh?"

Amanatsu smiled happily. "Ever since you have been coming to visit Hotaru-sama; she's been getting so much better! Thank you so much Ruka-kun!"

Blushing, Ruka only nodded stiffly. He never thought that it would be because of him that Hotaru was slightly getting better every day.

"Ru-uh…Nogi," Ruka turned and looked at Hotaru who seemed to refuse looking at him. "Can you grab something for me in my room? It's a flame resistant helmet…" She said.

Nodding, Ruka walked into Hotaru's room and smiled at seeing that it was also brighter than before with the curtains open. Then he blinked and frowned. "What was she trying to say before saying my name…?" He wondered out loud before shrugging and looking around for that flame resistant helmet.

"Aw, dang!" He muttered as he accidently bumped into a small shelf a several books fell out. "Darn it; and this room was looking really clean." He said, sighing to himself before bending down to pick them up.

It was then he noticed a red and orange helmet. "Hmmm." He picked it up and read the words, "Flame-resistant helmet; protects you against flames completely but will not work against things like magma/lava. Price to buy is 1000 rabbits but to rent, it cost 500 rabbits…" With another sigh, Ruka shook his head. "Seriously…isn't that really just a bit too expensive…?" He wondered as he placed the helmet to the side and continued to clean the area when he then heard a voice.

"Ruka."

"Eh?" Looking up, Ruka looked around the room, seeing nobody around. Frowning he muttered to himself, "Great, now I'm hearing voices in my head…"

"Ruka."

"Seriously, is there something wrong with my head?" Ruka asked out loud while shaking his head furiously.

"…Oi Ruka, get over to the window."

"Huh?" Ruka looked towards the window to see two hands. "…E-Eh?" He walked over and sweat dropped to see…his best friend…hanging over the window sill and standing on the shoulders of a smiling Koko who waved happily at Ruka. "…Natsume…what are you doing?"

"Trying to see what you're doing at Imai's room. But it's too high and I don't feeling like jumping. Pull me up." He said not in a commanding voice but as a question.

Chuckling to himself, Ruka pulled up his best friend and Natsume hoisted himself into the room. Then the two reached over and tried to grab the jumping Koko who was reaching his hand out eagerly to the two boys. But then Natsume stopped and said, "Actually, let's just leave him there."

"EH?" Ruka and Koko stared at the blanked faced boy before Koko started to whine sadly but with that stupid-like grin still there on his face. "Come on Natsu, let me up!"

"Don't give me nicknames."

"Aye, sir!"

Ruka sweat dropped as Koko gave a salute before turning to Natsume. "Come on Natsume; he helped in bringing you up here; let's just grab him and pull him up. Besides, if the girls find him, they're gonna kill him. You know how those girls are."

Natsume was silent for a few moments until he shivered and agreed, helping his best friend pull up the mind-reader into the room.

Koko looked at the room and blinked. "Huh…I thought there would be more metal things here."

"Why?"

"Because Hotaru-san is an inventor."

Ruka and Natsume opened their mouths to speak against it, and then closed them as they realized that Koko did have a point.

Koko grinned as he read their minds. "See, even you guys think so!"

Ruka turned to a very pissed Natsume. "Don't; I don't think Hotaru would really be happy if you used your flames, especially since you guys came here without permission." But then he stopped talking as he realized that the other two males were staring at him with a "WTH" look. "What?" Ruka asked, looking confused.

The fire user smirked slightly. "When did you get to calling Imai with her first name?" He asked.

A blush appeared on the animal lover's face as he realized his mistake and covered his mouth. "I-I…uh…"

Koko giggled softly, trying to contain a much louder laughter. "You liiiiiiiiike her." He said, rolling his tongue a bit.

"I-I DON'T!" Ruka cried, blushing. "AND WHAT'S WITH THE TONGUE ROLLING?" He cried.

"Ruka-kun; what's wrong?" Natsume and Koko blinked and turned to the closed door after hearing a mechanical voice.

"A-Ah; nothing Amanatsu-san!" Ruka cried out before grabbing the helmet and turning to Natsume. "I'll be back." And he turned to Koko. "And you…just shut up and stay in here." He said before walking out.

It was a couple of minutes later that Ruka returned and sighed. "I gotta clean this up now…" He said as he knelt down besides the fallen books.

Natsume knelt down besides Ruka. "I'll help." He said.

Ruka smiled. "Thanks Natsume." He said as the two friends started to organize the area.

Koko only stood still until he noticed an envelope next to Ruka's foot behind him. He tilted his head to the side before walking to it and picking it up. He blinked and his smile faltering as he realized that it was slightly wet with…what was it? He didn't know.

Feeling very, very curious, Koko opened the wet envelope and took out the papers. As he skimmed through the letter, his smile faded completely as a look of complete shock replaced it. Then he reached into the envelope quickly and took out several other papers. Skimming through them, his look of shock was replaced by a frown and saddened eyes. Then he spoke, "Hey…Ruka-kun…?"

Ruka didn't look up but gave a questioning noise in response.

"…Did…Hotaru-san ever say why she became sad…?"

"No; why?" Ruka asked, starting to feel suspicious of Koko's question. He stood up while Natsume only turned his head to the side to look at Koko.

The two widened their eyes slightly in shock to see a frowning Koko staring at several pieces of paper before looking at them. "Look at this." He said softly.

Ruka looked at the paper before taking the one Koko was handing to him. His eyes looked through the paper before they widened and he dropped the letter. Natsume frowned and took it, confused before they too widened in shock. The Koko handed over the other papers. Ruka didn't take them.

Natsume took them instead and his eyes widened at the name of the village he was looking at. _No…_He thought silently before he read off a couple of names softly.

Finally he reached the last two names and that was when Ruka widened his eyes and he cried, "Wait; what was that last one?"

Looking at Ruka, Natsume raised a brow before reading it again, "Sakura Mamoru-"

"No, wait…the other one!"

"…Sakura…Mikan?"

Ruka froze. _Sakura…Mikan…?_

_I heard from Amanatsu that you like Sakura's a lot!_

_There's a Sakura necklace…also with a mikan because Amanatsu said you really liked them._

Still frozen, Ruka shakily took the papers out of Natsume who blinked, confused. He quickly skimmed through what was the list and stopped at a certain name. "…Sakura…Mikan…" He whispered. _Could it be…was that person…?_

"What's wrong Ruka?"

Ruka looked at Natsume. "I think…Hotaru's best friend died…"

**~.~.~**

Hotaru raised a brow at the two newcomers in front of her. Her eyes were completely emotionless…at least that was what she had hoped for but the three boys could see the emotion of confusion in her violet eyes. "Why are they here…?" She asked softly, not trusting her own voice.

Ruka looked to the side. "Umm…well…they wanted to see why you weren't coming to class and followed me…but they didn't want to go through all the girls and well…you know…"

Hotaru sighed. She knew. Nearly every girl was IN LOVE with the black haired and crimson eyed boy in front of her. Sometimes she did feel sorry but then she'd get happy to get photos of him to sell…then again…that was before…Mikan had…

The girl bit her lip, hiding her eyes as a tear started to appear.

Koko's smile once again faltered as he heard her thoughts and thought to himself, _Ruka-kun was right…that girl really was…_

"Whatever; you can stay until night. That's when those idiotic girls finally go into their rooms. It'll be until nine so just make yourself at home. You still have…" She looked at a doggie clock at the wall. "Five hours." She said before returning to whatever she was working on.

The three boys looked at each other. _It's now or never…_ Two of them thought while one simply stepped away, something eating away at his heart as he remembered the name of the village.

"Umm…I-Imai…?" Hotaru hummed in response. "…Why do you like mikans?" Koko asked.

The effect was immediate. Hotaru's whole body froze and her hands dropped the machine she was holding. Her eyes were suddenly hidden by her black hair and she said nothing while Ruka and Koko fidgeted in nervousness.

"…Why…do you want to know…?" She asked softly.

Koko smiled weakly. "W-Well…I-I heard from Ruka that you did w-well…I never really took you to be one that actually like mikans…" He said in a hesitant tone.

Hotaru remained silent. Then she said, "You're a mind-reader; find out yourself.' She said darkly.

"…Um…would you be angry if I said I already looked into your mind?"

Silence ran through all of them before in a second, Hotaru had suddenly lifted her head and a dark and evil look was in her eyes. Then she suddenly said, "Never mention that name again or you'll wish you had never even heard of that word." She said.

"AYE, SIR!" Koko cried.

_Pathetic…_ Natsume thought with a bored stare. Ruka only sighed and brought his head to his hands.

"Imai, is Sakura Mikan your friend?"

The room suddenly went cold as Koko and Ruka froze and turned with wide eyes, staring at Natsume in shock. He ignored them and stared at Hotaru with hard eyes while said girl said nothing.

Then finally, she choked out, "I don't know what you're talking about-"

"That's bullshit Hotaru!" It was now Ruka's turn to have stares from the other two boys but he didn't care. He was frustrated. _I really do care for her…_ He thought before he went up to her and cried, "That's why you were crying, wasn't it? Because I gave you that necklace that reminded you of Sakura Mikan!" He then shivered when he saw Hotaru dark cold stare.

It didn't matter. He wanted to help her…

He wanted to take away her pain…

He wanted to see a smile on her face, even if it might just be a smirk…

He wanted to see her more frequently…

Even if he had to break her first.

"That's why you're so upset right? You're upset because your best friend died in that fi-"

"YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!"

Ruka shut his mouth while Natsume and Koko stared with wide eyes. For the first time for the other two boys, they're seeing the Ice Queen crying tears. They were running down her cheek and they wouldn't stop. They continued to appear, even as she tried to hastily wipe them away.

"…How would you know-"

"YOU WOULD NEVER UNDERSTAND! IT'S MY FAULT THAT SHE DIED!" The boy's widened their eyes with shock and confusion. At the same time, Natsume had a single thought running through his mind.

"IF I HAD NEVER CAME TO THIS STUPID SCHOOL, I WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE HER! I WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE MIKAN AND MAMORU-JIICHAN! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" She screamed, while nearby, Amanatsu was shaking.

"…Hotaru-san…t-that doesn't mean it's your fault-"

"YES IT DOES! Best friends are supposed to be there for each other…we're supposed to be able to save one another…but…but I couldn't…I couldn't…" Hotaru fell to the ground sobbing. "I can't even go to her f-f-f-funeral…I can't even leave to say…say…g-g-g-good…bye…" Hiccups started to be heard as Hotaru continued to cry. Her face was hidden.

Ruka put a hand on her shoulder as he knelt down. "That part isn't your fault Hotaru; it's the school's-"

"…said…her…" Ruka stopped talking as he heard a small whisper from the girl.

"W-What did you say…?" He asked hesitantly.

Hotaru's lifted her head. Her eyes were shining with emotion that the three boys were taken aback. They shone again like when Ruka first saw her crying and with the emotions of sadness, fear, and even guilt. "I never even told her that I loved her. I never even said to her that she was my best friend…"

Silence came besides from the sobs.

But then words again broke that silence. "I always said she was annoying. I always said she was an idiot. I always said that money and myself were more important than her…I always said that she was not even on my top ten favorite things list…BUT THOSE WERE LIES! I…I never had…the courage to say…that I loved her more than money. I never got to tell her that she was my most important person…I never got to tell her that she was cute…and I loved having her around me…"

Closing her eyes, she then whispered, "I never got to tell her that she was my one and only best friend…" Sobbing again, she curled up to a ball like position.

The boys could only look at her in awkward silence.

Then…

"It's not your fault…"

Hotaru never moved but her sobbing went down somewhat while Ruka and Koko looked at Natsume. His crimson red eyes were only staring at Hotaru and it held…guilt…

"Natsume, what are you talking about-"

"I'm the one who caused that fire."

Hotaru's head quickly looked up; her eyes were wide with confusion and shock. There was no time for anger. "W-What…?

Natsume turned away. "I…made that fire at that village. I never knew that it was your village. If I had known, then I wouldn't-GAH!" But he was cut short as Hotaru made a leap at him, her eyes burning with a fire of anger.

"YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED MIKAN! YOU KILLED HER!" She screamed, as she began punching the raven haired boy. Natsume did nothing but accept the hits as Ruka and Koko cried out in shock.

Ruka quickly made a move and grabbed a hold of Hotaru's wrists. "Stop it Hotaru! He didn't mean to-"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE IF HE DIDN'T MEAN TO! HE STILL KILLED MIKAN! HE KILLED THE ONLY PERSON WHO ALWAYS MADE ME HAPPY BESIDES MY PARENTS! HE KILLED THE GIRLTHAT LOVED ME FOR WHO I WAS! I'll KILL YOU FOR THAT HYUUGA!"

"THE SCHOOL FORCED HIM TO!"

At that, Hotaru stopped struggling. Confusion ran through hers and Koko's mind as they looked at Ruka whose blue eyes were hidden by his blonde locks. Natsume looked Ruka with wide and disbelieving eyes. "R-Ruka…d-don't say-"

"The school forces Natsume to go on these missions! The Dangerous Ability Class is just a cover-up for the students that go on missions for the school! Natsume always has to go on these dangerous missions that cost his life! The school probably forced Natsume to burn that village and he didn't even know why!"

Hotaru glared at Ruka. "That still doesn't change the fact that he killed Mikan." She said in a dangerously low voice.

"…Then will this?"

Natsume's eyes widened. "Shut up Ruka!"

"NATSUME'S ONLY LISTENING TO THE SCHOOL TO PROTECT HIS FATHER AND SISTER!"

Hotaru and Koko again froze with shock. Natsume closed his eyes and tched. "W-What do you mean…Ruka-kun…?" Koko asked.

Closing his eyes, Ruka whispered a small sorry to his friend who only turned to the side but forgave his friend. He knew that Ruka was trying to protect him… "Natsume's sister has an Alice too…but it went out of control one time and burned our village." Hotaru's and Koko's eyes widened. "Everybody was fine…but it was at that time that Natsume was offered to come to Gakuen Alice. They even said that they would leave Aoi and Natsume's father alone…"

Koko's eyes were slightly watering while Hotaru stared with disbelieving eyes.

"…He…he even got scorned by the townspeople…they began to hate him, thinking that it was his fault that the town caught on fire…and he took the blame. He even tried to push me away, making it seem as though that we weren't friends…" He said, his voice breaking slightly.

But then with a sad smile, Ruka said, "In the end, I followed him…but now…they're forcing him to do these things…they had another reason that makes Natsume obey them but he never told me what it was…"

_They would've taken you away if I didn't listen to them…_ Natsume thought automatically and Koko's eyes widened as he heard that but said nothing.

"That's why…don't say that its Natsume's fault…he's trying to protect his family…" Ruka said in a broken voice.

Nobody said anything for perhaps the longest time. Who knows how much time had pasted; an hour…maybe two…? It didn't matter. Everybody was too much in thought.

Finally…

"I see…" Everybody turned to Hotaru. Her eyes were covered by her bangs. She turned to Natsume. "I'm sorry Hyuuga."

"I should say sorry; I never meant to kill your best friend. All I know was that my mission was to kill a certain person. I don't know who it was. They said that if that fire didn't work, then they would give me the name and who it was. But a week after, they told me that it was a mission accomplished so I shook the thought away. I never meant to kill your best friend too…" He said softly.

Hotaru shook her head. "I shouldn't have overreacted…Mikan wouldn't have wanted that from me…" She said softly. Then a bitter laugh followed after that. "Now I have another reason for hating the academy…" She said darkly.

"I know how you feel." Ruka, Natsume, and even Koko said.

Then she looked at Natsume. "Tell me, what exactly did the academy want you to do? Who did they want you to kill?"

"…" Hotaru narrowed her eyes as Natsume remained silent. He said nothing but looked to the side. "I said it all already…I honestly don't know what else they wanted me to do…" He said softly.

Hotaru sighed. "…I see…"

"…What was this Mikan like?"

Violet eyes looked at Koko. He had a smile but had a hard time keeping it on his face. Hotaru smiled sadly as she realized that the poor boy was trying to lift everybody spirits up.

"Fine…I tell you…" She said softly as she immediately got off of Natsume. She joined Koko and Ruka went over and helped Natsume up. Then they turned to Hotaru who sat down next to the eager Koko She looked at Ruka and Natsume and with another apologetic face in which Natsume nodded, indicating that he forgave her, she started.

"Mikan…was a complete idiot…she was clumsy…she was simple-minded…and was just plain stupid." The boys sweat dropped at the start and looked at each other. "But…" They looked back at a smiling Hotaru and Natsume and Koko widened their eyes while Ruka smiled as well.

"Mikan…was kind. She loved everything and everybody. She always tried to find the best in everybody and won't stop until everybody could be her friend. She doesn't care about popularity. She cares more of her friends and worries about them more than herself. She always told me that she loved me…Mikan…would never leave anybody behind. And her smiles…were always warm."

"I always loved her smiles…"

**~.~.~**

Blank and dull brown eyes stared in nothingness. They just stared straight ahead. The mind knew nothing. It didn't know anything…Her mind was closed to her past. She doesn't know who she was…she doesn't know what anything was…

"You're awake…" The girl turned to the side to see a woman standing at the door and light was pouring in. Her eyes didn't care about the blinding pain. She just stared at the woman with a blank look.

The woman smiled sadly as she remembered what had just happened at the meeting.

"_I see why you wanted to save this girl…" The man, the real boss before her sighed before smiling. "Oh well, she's very lucky to have someone like you, Yuka."_

_Yuka only nodded sadly, her short brown hair covering her auburn brown eyes. "…"_

"_I was wondering…" Yuka's eyes widened as she heard the rest of that sentence and she quickly cried out._

"_NO!"_

_The man smiled sadly. "I know why you'd be angry but-"_

"_I WON'T HAVE HER GO TO THAT…THAT…THAT ACCURSED ACADEMY!"_

"_I know how you feel but it could help us bring down the academy. And besides, Sakura-san told us that the girl's best friend is there. Wouldn't the girl be happy if she was able to save her best friend?"_

_Yuka's eyes widened as she glared at the man before her. ""…Fine…but at least let us train her. She may be passing information to us when that time comes but she'll still be in danger! I don't want to risk anything…"_

_The man smiled. "Don't worry; I plan to wait for several years. Perhaps Berry, Suzune, Yume, and Yuki will even follow her to the academy to help her so she won't be alone."_

_Yuka smiled at that and nodded. "Very well." She said before walking out and heading to that room…the room with her still sleeping inside for several weeks…_

_And now I'm here…_Yuka thought as she looked at the girl before her before she gave a light smile and walked over to her.

The brown hair on the girl had some burns which will be fixed after they cut them. The girl's burns had not fully healed. Shiki didn't have much time until he had to heal the older man as he was much older and still he is working on healing the old man.

The girl in front of her stared at Yuka with a blank look in her eyes. The eyes were dull…emotionless…it…completely had nothing…

Yuka then hugged the girl, expressing everything she had felt into that small hug. The girl was silent, not moving but then she shuddered, and a single tear ran down her cheek. The girl closed her eyes and Yuka did as well before she uttered this single sentence…

"I'm so sorry…but I'll be here for you now…my dear daughter…Mikan…"

* * *

><p>Kura: AND DONE!<p>

Mikan: Yay; so I'm still alive!

Kura: But nobody in the academy or your old village will ever know that.

Mikan: *goes into depression*

Berry: Suck it up.

Kura: Anyway, I hope that everybody enjoyed that! XD Oh, and might not be able to update tomorrow...maybe Saturday or Sunday...:P oh, but please do review! Bye-bye everybody! :D


	4. Memories

Kura: Hiya everybody! I'm so sorry for not updating on the day I promised! I had no time because I had a test on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and even freaking Thursday! But then my test on Monday got moved to Thursday only because my damn teacher never came to class! I mean, who does that?

Berry: *shrugs*

Kura: Anyway, I do apologize! Please forgive me! DX *bows*

Berry: review replies.

_**Princess Mei Mikan: **__Awww; thanks for loving it! And so sorry I didn't update sooner! DX I hope that you will like this chapter! Please do enjoy! XD_

_**Grace 1995: **__Awwww; thanks for loving it! Sorry for not updating sooner and I'm really glad that the plot is good enough for you to like it! Please do enjoy this chapter! XD ENJOY!_

Kura: Okay then…I do not own Gakuen Alice!

Berry: …I was supposed to say that.

Kura: I know but you say mean things too. Anyway…ENJOY!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3-Memories<strong>

Ruka looked at Hotaru who was at her seat, tinkering away at another invention. A small smile reached his lips as he stared at her, but then froze when he heard a soft snicker and turned quickly to see Koko grinning at him stupidly. Ruka glared.

The mind-reader's grin only grew wider before he skipped away.

A groan escaped Ruka and at the same time, Natsume looked up from his Fairy Tail manga. "Koko again?" He asked. Ruka only nodded. Natsume gave a small smirk. "If you weren't staring at Hotaru all day long, then maybe you wouldn't be thinking about her so much and getting Koko to laugh at you." He said.

Blushing, Ruka glared at his best friend as well. "I do not stare at Hotaru all day!"

"Yes you do."

Again, Ruka blushed but it became darker as he pouted. "I don't! I just…get worried sometimes…because Hotaru still gets depressed sometimes, even though it had been a year already…" He said, looking away.

Natsume nodded. "Yeah…I know…but it's good to see that she is starting to get over it. You can tell, right Ruka?"

Ruka smiled. "Yeah; I think that coming to class is helping her take her mind off of that…"

The two best friends looked at the inventor who was still working on a certain project she had started.

Hotaru gave a light and very tiny smile so that nobody would see. She knew the two boys and Koko were worried for her. They had become good friends towards her…but…still…it would be so hard.

Sighing, Hotaru put down her invention and rested her head on her arms as she laid them on her desk. Her eyes glazed over as she thought again of her late best friend. She closed her violet eyes, thinking of the smile the Mikan would always give her.

Though at times it would comfort her to remember Mikan, it always hurt her as well.

Feeling herself starting to break down, she immediately stood up, her a bit longer black bangs covering her teary eyes and gathered her things before running out of the room.

Everybody had noticed her strange behavior almost immediately but it was becoming a bit frequent. However, she hadn't done so in two weeks that everybody had believed that it stopped. And as soon as the girl left the room, the class broke into whispers once again like the other many times she had ran out of the class.

A few, meaning Sumire and some of her group of friends were snickering to themselves at how pathetic Hotaru seemed but everybody knew that deep down they were worried. As for how they knew, it was all thanks to the famous little mind-reader.

Others like Anna, Nonoko, and Yuu were only whispering about how to cheer up Hotaru. Yet…they had no idea on how to do so.

Meanwhile, Natsume had finally closed his manga book and looked at Ruka who seemed equally worried about their newest friend. They both stood up and quickly left, not caring about the class as it was free period.

As soon as they left, the class once again broke in whispers as to why the two boys even left.

At the same time, Koko slowly opened his eyes and sighed. His eyes looked out to the door as he thought of Hotaru's thoughts just before she left and he slightly shook his head. _It's still hard…isn't it…?_ He thought sadly while his smile turned slightly sad.

**~.~.~**

"Mikan…Mikan…Mikan…" Small whispers could be heard on the rooftop as the raven haired girl sniffed and whimpered out a girl's name. Her violet eyes were closed and her small body was shaking from sadness and devastation.

Memories ran through her mind. Memories…of Mikan…

~.~.~

"_Mou~ Hotaru! Don't leave me here!" Hotaru sighed and looked at the girl she called her best friend with her violet eyes. Mikan only gave a toothy grin as she ran after the violet eyed girl. "Hotaru~"_

"_Shut up baka; you're hurting my precious ears." Hotaru said, looking away._

_Mikan's jaw fell to the floor as she cried out, "That's so mean Hotaru!"_

_Hotaru looked at Mikan and turned away again, giggling softly after looking at Mikan's funny expression._

~.~.~

"_Look at this Hotaru; it a pretty purple butterfly!" Hotaru looked at the butterfly in Mikan's small hands. It was striking and slowly fluttered its wings before suddenly taking off and away from the young cheerful girl's hands. Mikan's eyes widened and she smiled. "Wow; isn't it pretty Hotaru?"_

_Hotaru shrugged and went back to her book. "I guess."_

"_It's pretty; just like you Hotaru!"_

~.~.~

"_I always loved your name Hotaru!" Mikan grinned as Hotaru turned away from her orange ice cream. Mikan giggled and licked her own ice cream cone as Hotaru continued to stare._

"…_Why?" Hotaru asked softly._

_Mikan smiled brightly. "I love fireflies because they're so pretty. And you name means fireflies."_

_Hotaru frowned. "So I'm a bug."_

"_Well, that's not the only reason."_

"_Huh?" Hotaru looked at Mikan once again._

_The young girl was grinning very happily as she giggled and looked at the fireflies that gathered around the deserted field. "When I think of Hotaru; I think of somebody wonderful. When I hear your name; I think of a wonderful, beautiful, striking, and shining person!"_

~.~.~

"_Hotaru~ I'm scared!" Mikan was crying slightly, her body shaking with fear and Hotaru sighed before going over to the girl._

"_Idiot Mikan…those idiotic boys were just teasing you. There's nothing haunting the school; it was just a story to scare you…" Hotaru said softly, walking up to the crying girl and patted her head._

_Mikan looked at Hotaru with teary eyes. It was big and innocent with still that fear placed in them. "Are you sure…?" She asked._

_Hotaru smiled softly. "I'm sure."_

_Finally, giving back a smile, Mikan giggled and hastily wiped away her tears. "Arigato Hotaru; you're an amazing friend!"_

"…_Yeah…"_

~.~.~

"_Hotaru; I made you this chocolate cake for your birthday! You like chocolate…right?" Hotaru looked at the mess in the opened box in Mikan's hands. She was blushing embarrassingly as she looked away. "I-It was my first time baking and…it was really hard…Even with jii-chan's help…I made it like this…b-but I hope that you'll like it!"_

_The girl just stared at the blob for what seemed like hours. With every minute passing by, Mikan stared to get more and more discouraged when suddenly, the so-called heartless girl stuck that given fork to her into the cake, picked up and piece and stuck it in her mouth._

_Mikan stared at Hotaru's blank face full of hope._

_In all honesty, the cake was NOT tasty. It tasted like shit to the raven haired girl and she felt like throwing up. But instead, she covered her eyes with her black hair and smiled with the fork still in her mouth._

"_It's delicious."_

_That was all it took for Mikan to smile so brightly that it could even rival the sun's warmth and she cried out, "Hotaru; Happy Birthday! I love you!"_

~.~.~

Her body shaking harder, Hotaru started to cry harder as that memory crossed her mind. "MIKAN!" She cried out, tears just coming out and out. Those three words that Mikan had always said to her…what seemed so annoying but also comforting now was torturous to the violet eyes girl.

Just remembering what her best friend always said to her…it was devastating to know that she never replied back to those "I love you" with her own. It was hurtful to even remember that Mikan never even minded that fact. It was…like hell.

"Hotaru…" The violet eyed girl stopped briefly. Her body was still shaking and her tears continued to come and come but hearing that voice made her refuse to let any noise out. She slowly lowered her head and hastily wiped away her tears.

"What?" She asked so softly.

Ruka looked sadly at Hotaru. "You know that she knew how you really felt."

"You don't know that."

A sigh escaped the boy's lips as he walked over to her and sat beside her on the bench she was on. "It's true that I don't know your friend…but what I heard about her from you…I just know that she already knew that you loved her. Like you said, she's someone who just wants to see the good in others, right? Well that's the goodness she saw in you." He said, smiling.

Hotaru said nothing and it remained like that for a while before she lifted her head and smiled softly at the boy. "Thank you Ruka…" She said softly.

Ruka blushed. It was the first time that Hotaru had ever said his first name. He looked to the side, a smile on his face but his blush never leaving. "Y-Yeah…" He said softly.

Meanwhile, at the door, hidden in the shadows, Natsume gave a small smile. _Ruka is in love…_ Was the thought that ran through his mind before he got up from his leaning position and left silently, closing the roof's door with absolute no sound.

As he walked down, his smile slightly faded. "I know that it's not like me say this… but… where does that leave me…?"

It was perhaps a few minutes later to Natsume but it was really an hour later when he felt the presence of that man. His eyes narrowed as he felt Persona coming towards him. He growled, not turning around. "What is it now?" He asked darkly with no emotion.

The man paused, his black eyes hidden behind his white mask before he spoke in a soft clear and dangerous voice. "An assignment for you; you'll be excused from classes starting from tomorrow until two days after." Persona said, handing over a folder. "Tonight, the meeting place will be at midnight sharp and I'll explain fully. Then you'll leave a few hours later, understood?"

Natsume turned and stared at it before taking it. He knew that Persona understood his answer. He shuddered as he felt Persona's cold fingers and quickly left with the folder in his hand. He clenched it tightly, making creases at the end.

**~.~.~**

It was finally midnight when Natsume finally turned to see where Persona had appeared. Natsume had not yet worn his cat mask. He had a strange feeling in his gut that he won't be needing it.

"You are not going to kill anybody."

Kuro Neko was right…

"Instead, you shall be finding out information about these four children. We had found out about them just recently but their Alices are strange. The ESP wishes to have them enrolled here but it also seems like they are connected to Z."

Natsume's eyes narrowed at that.

"If there're people who will interrupt in you mission as you go along, you may kill them. In fact, it'll probably be easier for the academy with less Z members out there."

**~.~.~**

Her dull brown eyes looked outside with curiosity. The woman in the same room as her, Yuka smiled softly. "You know that you can't go outside Mikan."

The girl, Mikan sighed. "I know…but I wish to see the place I was living at with Mamoru-jiisan." She said softly. Another sigh escaped her lips. "Do you think I can go if Berry, Suzune, Yuki, or Yume came with me?" She asked.

Yuka shrugged. "It all depends on the boss…but probably not because the plan to take over this organization will be taking place this week. It's very stressing…he wants you to help but I-"

"I want to help." Yuka frowned at Mikan whose eyes stared back.

"No." Yuka said simply.

Mikan pouted and looked back through her room's window. "Meanie." She muttered.

Yuka gave a light smile as she shook her head at her daughter. "Silly Mikan…" She said.

It was an hour later when Yuka was called away. Mikan looked at the door with her dull eyes and waited.

Finally, the door opened once more to reveal a certain girl with shoulder length silver-blue hair. Her ocean blue eyes stared at Mikan before they closed and the girl gave out a noiseless sigh. "Honestly…Yuka-san said no and you still plan to?"

Mikan gave a sly grin. "Yes…" She whispered softly.

Shaking her head, the girl frowned. "Whatever; they had better not blame me. I'll tell them you forced me to come along."

Nodding, Mikan then stood up and walked past the girl. "That's true anyway; I am forcing you to come along. How else am I supposed to find the place?" She said as she took of a cloak from the coat hanger.

"You're the devil's daughter." The girl said as she walked after Mikan, the two now leaving the closed and locked door behind after the girl had locked the door without touching the door's handle.

Grinning, Mikan turned to the girl. "That would mean you're the devil herself, Berry."

Berry laughed softly. "You are such a delight Mikan. Well, we don't have all day. The most Yuka-san will be held up will be until the day before the plan. We have a few days at the most. We'd better hurry if you want to see your hometown."

Mikan nodded. "I suppose you're right."

"I am always right."

"I know…that's the only thing I hate about you."

"And yet, you also love that part of me; otherwise, you would always get into trouble."

"I am not a trouble maker."

Berry smirked. "Keep telling yourself that." She said as the two finally reached the end of the hallway.

At the end, there was a large door that stood to be perhaps twenty feet, maybe even more, tall. It was an old fashioned design and behind, the two knew it was that man. They slowly pushed open the door and walked inside.

Inside was a man. His eyes brightened after seeing the two girls. "Mikan; Berry; what can I do for you two?" He asked.

Mikan looked at the man with her dull eyes. "I wish to leave this place for just a few days."

Instantly, the man's eyes darkened. "I cannot allow that."

"Boss; she just wishes to see the village she had lived in before having to come here." Berry explained, staring straight into the man's eyes.

The man, their boss was a kind person. He was considerate to every one of his subordinates and always made sure that they were well taken care of, even though they were poor themselves. It was thanks to Berry and her siblings that they are still managing and will still be able to manage for a long time. And as was his kind nature, he was like a father figure to everybody. However, he wasn't that much old to be a grandfather. No, rather, he looked to be one in his forties or fifties. And it was because of this trait of his that he was worried of the two.

He looked at the two girls. One had the look of determination and yet still had that confusion in there, as though she was trying to find out more of herself, to know who she really is. The other had that determination as well but the determination to protect her friend.

The boss sighed. "I suppose…" He said softly. "But if Yuka-san gets angry, I'm blaming you two for being too persuasive."

Laughing, the girls grinned. "Arigato…father." They both said. The man smiled. He was called as a father by the younger group in that organization and it was a title he wore proudly. To the older group, he was like an older brother.

Leaving the room, the two girls broke into a run after closing the large doors. They had to leave quickly or somebody else could find them. It only took them ten minutes but it felt likes hours after going through twist and turns of the hallways. When they finally reached to the outside world, Mikan only took a second to observe the trees and grass and wind from up close before Berry pulled her along.

"Come on; it's best to get there quickly and then come back before the overthrow." The blue eyed girl said and Mikan nodded in agreement and they continued on their way.

Elsewhere, Natsume had stopped and sat against a tree, letting himself rest. He had left the black car only a few hours ago but for a strange reason, he felt that he had to go…there. He sighed and ruffled his hair in frustration. "Why did I listen to the damn academy…?" He thought to himself angrily.

Finally, a good ten minutes, Natsume stood up but this time, turned to a different direction from where he had first started. _It's alright for a detour…I'm not abandoning this mission…there's no way I'll do that if Aoi will just be…_ He did not finish that thought but instead, continued on forward.

_I'm going to Hotaru's village…I feel like I have to go there…_ He thought to himself.

He continued to run and run, not resting even for a bit a comfort for himself. His heart had that strange nagging to go there…to go to that village…it was like as if something was there beckoning to him. It was telling him to come and come…

Another day had passed. He leaned against a tree, his breathing heavy as he stared at the sky with half-lidded eyes. His body was exhausted and he wanted to sleep. He wanted to rest.

But he won't…he won't go to sleep yet. His eyes closed for a moment before opening again and showing a strange emotion of determination. He won't stop…not yet…

He stood up, but shook. His body was tired; he knew this but he couldn't stop. There was something there…something…

**~.~.~**

His crimson red eyes stared at the village with a sigh. There wasn't really anything and the village was back to how it originally was. However, there was this one area outside of the village that was still burnt…still in pieces…why nobody had bothered to fix it up, he certainly didn't know.

Natsume walked up to the remains of what was perhaps a nice looking home. There were two small signs in front of the house, perhaps something to indicate that this place was a small memorial for whoever had died here. His eyes trailed over to the ashes and finally to a small doll. He blinked and went over to it, picking it up.

It was a small teddy bear. It was brown but was carrying a mikan for a strange reason. Frowning, he turned it over to the back and his eyes widened at seeing a name at the bottom back side of the teddy.

Sakura Mikan…

His fist tightened around the teddy bear slightly and his lips gave out a noiseless sigh. He looked around the house once more, looking for anything else that remained but there was nothing. He gave another sigh and turned around to leave but froze.

In front of him was a girl.

The girl was staring back at him.

Silence continued to surround them before the girl finally spoke and said, "Who are you?"

Her eyes were a dull brown and her hair was flowing down her back. It was a pretty brown color and made her look…pretty. However, those eyes clashed with her image. The dullness looked as though it should never be there. He didn't know.

Natsume closed his eyes before opening them again, showing no emotion. "Why should I tell you?" He asked.

The girl smiled and a strange emotion started hammering away in Natsume's heart and he growled inwardly at that very heart, telling it to shut up. "I suppose you're right; there's no need to tell a stranger anything. It doesn't matter anyway; I was just curious." She said, walking forward and past him.

The fire-caster looked at the girl who stood in the middle of the debris. Her eyes were closed and she gave a sigh of content. "I see…so this was that place…" She said rather softly.

Natsume raised a brow. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Opening her eyes and looking at him with a cheeky look, she replied, "And why should I tell you?"

The boy growled, feeling a bit annoyed while the girl laughed. _Damn girl… _He thought angrily.

"Anyway; I had better get going. Mother will be angry if I don't get back soon…" He heard her whisper. He blinked as he looked at her.

Her eyes were glazed over. For a strange reason, it was like as if she was…sad. He felt her emotions pouring out of her and he didn't like it. He hated the fact that she was sad…but he didn't know why.

Then the girl quickly looked up. Natsume blinked as she quickly turned to him but felt himself fighting back a blush as she was suddenly very close to his face. "W-What the hell are you doing idiotic girl?" He cried out.

Not saying anything, the girl continued to stare at Natsume. Her eyes bore themself into his and he felt her staring not just at him but inside of him. He felt his heart skip a beat and he mentally scolded himself for even feeling such a strange feeling. Then the girl smile. "I really like your eyes." She said softly.

Then suddenly, she was away from him.

Breathing a little heavier than was needed, Natsume turned to see the girl walking away and much farther than she should have been. He froze when then girl suddenly turned back around, staring at him once more. Then she gave a smile.

"Perhaps I'll see you again someday." She said in nothing more than a whisper but he had heard her.

When he blinked in confusion, she was suddenly gone.

_An Alice user?_ He thought suspiciously but still felt himself fighting back a blush. _Who the hell is she anyway…? What's with her…she's so…so…weird…_ He thought to himself as he continued to clutch that little teddy bear. He looked at the toy and sighed. _Maybe this was the reason why I felt like coming here…? But…just who was that girl…?_ He thought again before turning, heading away from the wrecked home, and running away, leaving.

**~.~.~**

Sea blue eyes looked at the girl that was staring into the distance. She looked to where the girl was staring and saw a boy running away from the ruins of a house and her blue eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"Mikan…what are you thinking about?"

Mikan turned to look at Berry with no emotion on her face. Berry flinched slightly at seeing that face but relaxed when Mikan suddenly smiled. She then turned back, still staring at the running figure of the boy that Berry knew was a part of that school.

"I'm just thinking…that I'd like see that boy again…"

* * *

><p>Kura: I'm so sorry that I didn't update on the day I promised! DX I became so busy on all Saturday, Sunday, Monday and all the other days up until now that I didn't have time! DX<p>

Berry: Excuses.

Kura: shut it. Anyway, I do hope that this chapter was fine! For some reason…I don't like it as much as the others I wrote so far…T^T

Berry: …Meh.

Kura: Oh, please do review! And now…BYE-BYE!


	5. New Students, Starting Plans

Kura: NEW CHAPTER!

Everybody: Hooray…

Kura: Jerks.

Hotaru: Anyway, we'll just go to the reviews.

_**Akatuki Utaou:**__ (Chapter 3) Thank you so much for liking the chapter! XD As for me…I always have every single scene from my stories play out in my head. :) It's fun to watch in my mind. :D And for your question, yes; it is gonna happen in this chapter! :)_

_(Chapter 4) Yeah…I really liked writing that part. :D It was so…CUTE! XD And actually, when I was thinking of how to make the boss, I was thinking of One Piece and of Ace's captain, Whitebeard. He's a nice guy but also strict. At the same time, I was thinking of one of my characters from one of my stories, Aguri Sora. He's a nice guy. :D And sadly no, that was not Mr. Bear. But he will appear! XD And honestly, I really loved that sentence in that chapter! XD Please do enjoy this one! XD_

_**Ms Fantasy Freak: **__Sure! Here's the update! XD ENJOY!_

_**Princess Mei Mikan:**__ Thank you so much for being so forgiving! T^T And I'm glad you like the chapter! XD Please do enjoy this chapter! XD_

_**The Burnt Jewel: **__Yeah…I always feel that I do and I use Microsoft to help me. But then I try to make it as if the people were actually talking…and then at the same time, I really want it to be correct. -_- And as for the grammatical mistakes, please excuse me for that. Even though I was born in America, I'm terrible at grammar. :P Please do enjoy this chapter and I'm really glad you pointed out my mistakes! I'll try to be more careful…but I doubt that'll be any help…-_- I'll still try though. Enjoy! XD_

Kura: Okay then! Now, before we start, I would just like to apologize for the extremely late update! I've just been so busy lately with school, home, church, Thanksgiving, Black Friday money saving, and DAMN TESTS AND PROJECTS! GAH! I NO LIKE SCHOOL! T^T

Everybody: ...

Kura: Okay, LET'S START! Do the disclaimer Berry!

Berry: Kura does not own Gakuen Alice...

Evrybody: ...

Berry: What?

Kura: ...right...let's start! XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4-New Students, Starting Plans<strong>

"Ohayo, minna-san!" Everybody ignored Narumi-sensei as he jumped inside with a big silly grin on his face. His face fell however when he realized that nobody cared about what he would talk about and he pouted sadly. "Everybody, please listen!" He cried.

Still, he was ignored.

Pouting even more, Narumi sighed and let off his Alice Restrainer to a lower dial and his Alice went loose as he asked one more time for the students to pay attention. And no, he did not feel guilty…he thinks…

The effects were immediate. Every student was suddenly fawning over the strange blonde haired teacher who sighed and sweat dropped. The only ones that weren't affected were Natsume, Ruka, Hotaru, and surprisingly even Koko. Narumi raised a brow at that (the students screamed in amazement) but said nothing before he stopped his Alice by letting his Alice Restrainer dial go back to its highest peak and everybody stopped their fawning.

They were all blushing in embarrassment before they all glared at the blonde haired teacher and all screamed at him with anger but he held a hand up to stop their talking. They all froze before Narumi then smiled and said, "Everybody, we have several new students today!"

Everybody was suddenly silent as they stared at their teacher with curiosity, all anger forgotten. Then whispers of excitement broke out.

"A new student; I wonder what she's like!"

"Hey, there's more than one and there's probably boys too!"

"Who cares; I just hope the guys are cute!"

"I hope the girls are cute!"

"I wonder if they're nice…"

"What I really want to know…" Everybody turned to Sumire who had a rather fierce glare in her eyes as she looked at the door, "is if they're Alice are worth something or not…" She said in a haughty tone.

Immediately everybody else nodded.

Meanwhile, Natsume, Ruka, and Hotaru ignored everybody, not caring about the new students at all while Natsume was reading Bleach and his book was on his face. Ruka was feeding his little rabbit while stealing glances at Hotaru who now sat in front on him and was working on a new invention. Koko on the other hand was staring at the door with a frown on his face. His eyes held a bit of disbelief but he said nothing.

Everybody was now fourteen years old and four years had passed since Hotaru had received news of her village.

Still, Hotaru had moved on. She still missed her best friend and she knew nobody else could ever take that position…but she had to move on. She knew that Mikan wouldn't have wanted that.

Also, having new friends helped. She smiled as she remembered how one boy helped her move on. She was grateful.

But now…she frowned as she tried to drown out the annoying whispers of the students around her. It annoyed her to no end and she hoped that whoever the new students were…well, they'd better be worth all the stupid whispers.

She looked at the door, letting her invention rest on her desk. Her eyes narrowed again as she stared at the door that then opened slightly.

The class drew their breath as the door then fully opened and they all gasped to see two twins walking in. The twins had the same length hair of silver blue and their eyes shone like the ocean. Their faces were passive and they said nothing as they walked to the center of the front of the room. One was a girl and the other was a boy who actually had his hair up in a high and short ponytail.

Suddenly, they heard a yell and they all turned to the door again to see a boy with silver hair and dark blue eyes laughing happily and running into the room, covering his head while a girl, who looked exactly like him but with longer hair chased after him screaming, "YUKI, YOU JERK!"

The boy, now identified as Yuki, laughed heartily again. "Shi shi shi shi!"

"STOP LAUGHING LIKE LUFFY!"

"That's how my laugh is sometimes, baka Yume!" He said, now running around the classroom with the girl chasing after him.

However, when they were in front of the other twins, the other two's eyes suddenly flashed dangerously and in a flash, everybody blinked and saw the two childish siblings (maybe…?) on the floor and sporting large red bumps on their heads while glaring at the other twins who held their fist a little in the air.

"BERRY, YOU MEANIE!" Yuki cried at the girl who shook her head.

"Shut up Yuki before I make you." She said dangerously and the boy shut up.

Meanwhile, the other silver haired girl was just pouting angrily at the other boy and muttered, "Stupid Suzune…"

The boy, Suzune shook his head. "Idiotic girl…"

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"You heard me…baka."

"GAH; YOU JERK! YOU'RE WORSE THAN WHEN ACE-NIICHAN IS OVERPROTECTIVE!"

While those two fought, Yuki, Berry, and everybody else in the class looked back to the door. Berry gave a sigh and walked up to it and said, "Hurry up and come it."

No answer was heard. Then slowly, another girl stepped in.

Hotaru's eyes widened.

A girl with dull brown eyes stared at class before hiding themselves behind her bangs and she followed Berry to the center of the front. Narumi gave a welcoming smile to the two girls and Yuki while casting a wary look at Yume and Suzune who were glaring at each other. "Will they be fine?" He asked.

"Don't worry; they do that all the time!" Yuki said with a happy grin.

"T-That doesn't lessen my worry…" Narumi said softly with a sweat drop on his head.

Finally, an angry growl was heard and the class blinked when the silver haired girl suddenly latched herself on Berry's arm and Berry jumped slightly in shock. The silver blue haired girl looked at the silver haired girl who stared back with teary eyes. "Berry-chan; I hate Suzune~" She whined out.

Berry patted the girl's head. "Don't worry Yume; he was born a jerk and will always be a jerk."

The other girl with the dull brown eyes giggled. "Gosh Berry; and to think he's your older twin brother."

"Who the hell cares?" Berry and Suzune said simultaneously.

While the five new students talked to themselves, the rest of the class stared at them. Nearly everybody was feeling a bit ticked off as they realized that they were being ignored. Ruka was looking at them in curiosity while Natsume simply did nothing but read his manga. Koko was still frowning as he stared harder at all of them and finally was Hotaru.

Hotaru's eyes were wide with shock but she calmed herself down. She knew it couldn't be true…it wouldn't be! T-To think…something like that…Hotaru shook her head slightly and looked away from the new students.

"Well you five; please introduce yourselves!" The class was at the edge of their seats; all were visibly interested except for a few certain ones.

The first to step up was Berry who gave a small bow. "I'm Haruno Berry…"

Her brother went next. "I'm Haruno Suzune…"

"Yosh; I'm Soma Yuki!" The silver haired boy said happily.

"I'm Soma Yume!" Yume said with a big smile.

Everybody turned to the last girl. She was so…out of place from the new students as she was the only one without a twin. But she gave a soft smile and opened her mouth to speak, moving a bit and letting her long grayish brown hair sway slightly. "Hello…my name is Azumi Mikan."

**~.~.~**

The class had ended slightly, Mikan had noticed. Everybody was staring at them with interested stares…well mainly at Berry, Suzune, Yuki, and Yume thanks to their already strange hair color.

Still, she didn't mind. Her dull eyes opened slightly. _At least we made it inside the Academy without problems…_ She thought to herself as she stood to get up but was blocked by a girl with short dark green hair with several curly long strands in the front. Her dark green eyes flashed with a haughty look before she asked, "What's your Alice?"

Mikan raised a brow before she asked, "Why should I tell you? I don't even know you." She said flatly.

The girl seemed irritated by that sentence but said nothing of it. She only flipped her longer strands back and said, "Fine, I'm Shouda Sumire; now tell me your Alice!"

Letting a small smirk play on her lips, Mikan replied, "Hold on now; I haven't even introduced myself. Silly girl…" She said softly, earning herself the blushing face of Sumire who retorted back with insults.

"Shut up ugly; just answer the damn question!"

At that moment, Berry stood up. Her eyes flashed dangerously before she walked over to Sumire and glared at the girl. "She does not have to answer your question." Sumire could only shiver in fear before Berry turned away and looked at Mikan. "Come on Mikan; we have to talk, remember?"

Mikan blinked before bonking her fist to her palm and smiling. "Now I do!" She said as she quickly gathered her stuff and went after Berry who had already stood at the open entrance.

Just before Mikan left, she noticed a girl staring at her…a girl with violet eyes. Stopping for a moment, Mikan stared into those eyes of the girl named Imai Hotaru as Hotaru stared back at hers.

Then, letting out a small smile, Mikan said very softly, "I really like your eyes."

It was only a small whisper for herself only but Hotaru heard it and her eyes widened in slight shock and embarrassment. Meanwhile, Natsume took off his book.

He recognized those words from three years ago…from that girl.

His eyes widened as he looked at the girl just before she left but said nothing. He felt his heart hammering just like it did those years before and he bit his lip in slight frustration before he tched and placed his manga on top of his face once more.

Meanwhile…

"You idiot; don't attract attention to yourself." Mikan pouted as she heard Berry's words.

"Sorry…" She muttered.

Yume smiled. "Don't worry about it Mikan-chan! Berry is just a bit grumpy today." She said, sticking her tongue out at her best friend who merely scoffed. Mikan giggled at the exchange.

"Anyway…" The girls turned to Suzune. All were outside of the school and Berry had ensured that they wouldn't be overheard by…eavesdroppers. "Now that we're in the Academy, we have to find its weak points. Taking over Z was easy enough but that was because we had already infiltrated it long before. Now, we don't know much of the Academy except for what a few of the Z members told us."

Yuki nodded, finally letting a serious expression appear on his usually child-like face. "True…but we also have to watch out. We just came out of the blue, dropping in front of the Academy as…outcast by our "home". The ESP can become suspicious anytime."

"The only thing helping us is the HSP, Mikan's uncle of course." Mikan smiled as what Yume said. "But the problem is the MSP, the woman who actually places that barrier over the entire school."

Berry looked up. "However, we do have Shiki-san and also Mikan has that Alice. We may be able to turn this disadvantage to our own advantage. After all, Shiki-san is the nephew of the MSP and also, that woman really did like Yuka-san."

Mikan looked down, her eyes glazed over. "…I think…" Everybody turned to her. "The Dangerous Ability class will be our most formidable opponent; also, the clone of Persona or rather, Rei-san. Mother said that Rei-san isn't a killer so he wouldn't be doing what the ESP forces him to do. So we may have to watch out."

"Persona…" Suzune muttered darkly. "He's a damn bastard…his Alice is the real problem…"

Yuma gave a sigh. "If only we knew how to be rid of Persona and save Rei-san, then everything would be so much easier…"

"You know…" Yuki opened his eyes, showing the dark blue twinkling with mischief. "We could use the students."

"Huh?" Everybody looked at Yuki with confusion.

Yuki grinned. "I don't mean use as in using them for our selfish needs but rather that we try and get them to our side without anybody really realizing it. You have to remember, there are some students that want to leave and return to their families."

Berry smiled a bit. "That's true; I'm sure that Kuro Neko would want to be with his family too. After all, he loved his sister so much to take the blame on burning the village they were living it."

"A small problem…we don't know where his sister is. Their father just appeared in front of Z one day and after seeing mother, he begged us to get back his daughter and son; Aoi and Natsume." Mikan stated. "Since he was so protective over his sister, wouldn't it be better to find his sister first in order to get him to our side?" She asked.

Yume nodded. "That is pretty much the only way to persuade Hyuuga-san…" She said.

"Also, after seeing several memories of the other students, I noticed that there was one girl in particular that really hates the Academy." Suzune said.

Berry nodded. "I noticed that too…what was her name? I think it was Imai Hotaru…"

"Well, what happened?" Mikan asked.

"…The academy killed her best friend."

Silence ran through them. Mikan's eyes were wide with shock as were Yume's and Yuki's who then looked away, their eyes burning with anger and dislike. Mikan then looked to the ground, her eyes sad.

"…Why… would they do that?" She asked.

Suzune sighed. "They didn't kill her directly. They weren't aiming for her…probably…but she got into the mess. That's what her memories showed us." He said with a hint of burning anger in his voice.

"Still…" Mikan said sadly. "The poor girl…" She said, looking away and at the school. "I don't know what I would do if you guys had died…"

Then, suddenly holding her hand, Yume gave a smile to the slightly surprised Mikan. "Don't worry Mikan-chan; we would never die and leave you alone because you're our precious friend."

Tears appeared in her eyes as Mikan grinned back and sniffled. "Thanks Yume-chan…" She said with a light blush on her face while the other three smiled at the actions.

Meanwhile, farther away and staring at the five children with those black cold eyes, the man gave a sinister smile. He turned and walked away, his white mask hiding his emotions before he reached up and took off his mask. A pale face was shone and that same sinister smirk still played on his black lips.

* * *

><p>Kura: Yes…I know…a very short chapter compared to my other ones. But I just didn't know what else to write! DX<p>

Berry: It's still interesting…we find out what the five are going to do.

Mikan: Yup…but…I didn't say anything to Hotaru…why?

Kura: You did. You said her eyes were pretty.

Mikan: That's not enough…T^T

Kura: I hope this chapter was alright…*sighs* School's been hard on me, even on the day of Halloween... XD but I'll make sure that the next chapter is so much better! XD

Everybody: Hurray!

Kura: Okay, well, bye everybody and please do review! XD BYE EVERYBODY! XD

Berry: Ja ne.


	6. Starting Suspicions

Kura: Hey everybody…sorry so much for the late update…I really did want to update but…ugh…school…and writer's block…ugh…tired…

Berry: …

Kura: but still; I'm so sorry! I really did not want this to be late! Even the Angels and Demons story…well…in that, I have this major writer's block and I HATE IT! DX But I am nearly done with Angels and Demons and for this, I FINALLY FINISHED A CHAPTER! XD *jumps up and down happily*

Berry: …review replies…

Kura: Oh! Right!

_**Mizuki Shin (Before: **__**Akatsuki Utaou**__**)**__**: **__Hmmm…okay, first: thank you so much for liking the previous chapter! And don't worry, Bear's gonna appear in this one! And yes, it was Persona who overheard them__ or rather, saw them since Berry made sure nobody could hear them.__ And Mikan does not remember Hotaru but later, somebody will find out that Mikan was Hotaru's best friend…ehehehehehe. And, if you want to know where Rei is, I can give you a hint! :D And sorry for updating so late. School, writer's block, and so much more kept interrupting me…T^T But please…ENJOY!_

_**Princess Mei Mikan: **__I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and I am so sorry for not updating soon like you asked. T^T I really hope you can forgive me and I really hope that this chapter satisfies you! :D_

_**Mermaidmelodyharrygone: **__Thank you for thinking so! :D Please do enjoy this next chapter! XD_

_**Razux: **__Yeah…I was crying too…I couldn't believe that I wrote something so sad…but in the end, I did and I posted it and I'm so glad some people seem to like it. :D And yes, it will be those pairings! I like those pairings! XD And I am so sorry for updating so late. I hope you can forgive me! DX But anyway, do enjoy! XD_

Kura: So once again, sorry for the extremely late update! DX Please forgive me!

Berry: Kura doesn't own anything otherwise she would be famous and have fans for even owning Gakuen Alice.

Kura: I can wish though :P Let's start! XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5-<strong>**Starting Suspicions**

Mikan whistled happily as she skipped over to her class. Sadly, she thought, Yume and the others had already gone ahead, training themselves earlier that morning.

At that thought, Mikan frowned and stopped her joyous skipping. She knew that her friends were strong…not just by their Alice but also physically. She even knew that Berry and Suzune could defeat at the most, five hundred men with just using their fist. It was scary and though Yume and Yuki couldn't do the same, the two were still amazingly strong and could beat at the most, four hundred and ninety nine men. It was ridiculous that it was a difference by only one.

_That's probably the reason why papa wanted these guys to come with me…he knows that in all the youth of our group, those four are the strongest__...well...besides from Yuki's and Yume's older brother__…still how on earth are they so strong? It is beyond human strength…_ Mikan thought with a sweat drop. Then she shrugged and continued on, her skip never returning.

She finally arrived at her class door and opened it eagerly. The class was eerily silent when the door opened, turning to stare at the new student that had walked in. Of course, it didn't matter to Mikan; in fact, it was an interesting thought that they were even interested in her. She had always thought so.

"Mikan-chan, over here!" Mikan looked up and smiled to see her four friends all surrounding Berry's seat which was right beside the window in the corner of the room. Mikan strolled over there quickly but stopped as soon as her path was blocked by none other than Sumire.

Mikan gave a kind smile to the girl. "If I may ask, what is it?

Sumire only glared hotly at the girl. "You still never told me your Alice…the entire class wants to know…and you four too! Tell us!" She cried, turning slightly to look over her shoulder at Yume, Yuki, Berry, and Suzune. Then she gave a haughty smirk. "That is, unless you believe your Alices to be stupid." She said before she started laughing. Many of the class started laughing along with her.

The silver haired girl began to stand from her seat as it was right in front of Berry's, anger visible in her eyes when Berry stopped her by grabbing her arm. Yume turned to her friend. "Don't; what will be there to accomplish by listening to an idiotic girl like her." She said.

"H-How dare you?" Sumire cried out. "I am not an idiot."

Suzune smirked at the girl. "Are you so sure?" He asked.

Then Yuki got up and walked over to Mikan. "Come on Mikan; we're gonna work on another of Berry's songs! You've gotta listen! It's amazing!"

Then everybody noticed something strange from the new silver-blue haired student. Berry was…blushing. In fact, she wasn't just ordinary blushing; she was blushing quite heavily as she then cried out, "S-Shut up Yuki! None of them are good…" She had mumbled the last sentence while Yuki tilted his head to the side cutely.

"What are you talking about Berry? Your songs are really awesome!" Yuki said with a kind and sincere smile on his face.

At this, Berry's face had went past ordinary blushing…and the blushing she had acquired just moments before and she hid her face almost immediately and cried, "SHUT THE HELL UP!" Of course, everybody could see steam rising from her cheeks that were now hidden.

"Nya…?" Yuki looked a bit sad at what Berry said.

Mikan smiled at him. "Don't worry, she just gets really embarrassed when someone other than Yume, Suzune, or even I compliments her on her songs." She said.

"But why me?" Yuki whined out.

Yume giggled. "Oh, if you only knew…"

"Nya…?"

Suzune only shook his head in disbelief at his best friend. "Baka; it's because Berry li-MPH!" At that instant, Berry quickly looked up, grabbed something from her bag and threw it at her brother. What everybody now knew as a scarf…well…it was nearly choking the boy. Instantly, the boy spat it out and glared at Berry. "What the hell?" He asked as Berry glared back.

"Say anything and I'll tell Yume."

Her brother paled. "You wouldn't."

Berry narrowed her eyes. "I would."

"…Evil little demon…"

"Thank you for the compliment, dear older brother." Berry said. And so, the two started to glare at each other darkly, sending dark messages to each other through their eyes.

Everybody looked confused, scared, and freaked out while Yume, Yuki, and Mikan did nothing, acting as if this was what usually happened. Yuki was still whining while Yume and Mikan tried their best to explain Berry's actions while not…telling her secret.

"OHAYA, MINNA-" Narumi stopped his sentence and sweat dropped to see the scene in front of him. He gave a sigh as he walked forward to Berry and Suzune and tried to separate them.

Of course, it didn't work.

"STOP FIGHTING YOU TWO!" He cried as Berry and Suzune ignored him, carrying on their glaring contest. This little struggle went on for a while…

During this time, Sumire turned to Mikan, Yume, and Yuki. "Since those two are out of the way for now…tell us; what're your Alices?" She asked. Instantly, the rest of the class perked up. The only ones who weren't was Natsume and Hotaru who simply ignored everybody.

The only difference between the two was that Hotaru was having a mental battle in her head. She continually tried to convince herself that her best friend was indeed dead…while…another part of her argued back, saying that the Azumi Mikan girl in the class right now was indeed the same Mikan from years before and that Hotaru should use the baka gun on her for making her think that she was dead.

Hotaru bit her lip as she thought of the smiling Mikan from four years ago…the same Mikan who always managed to bring a smile on the Ice Queen's face…however…

Hotaru looked at the Azumi Mikan girl who was animatedly talking with the other two students, Yuki and Yume. All three seemed to be discussing something while Sumire kept trying to grab their attention in order to find out their Alices. The girl gave a small sigh and took out a pair of sunglasses she had made a few years back and put them on. In an instant, the view of the class disappeared and instead were…pictures of her and Mikan.

A smile appeared on her lips as she watched the pictures turn to another. First was one with Mikan climbing a tree and Hotaru shaking her head which soon turned to one where it was Hotaru's first Christmas with the silly girl who was smiling so brightly. A small tear escaped her eyes but that was it.

Natsume, who was reading his manga, took it off his face and turned to look at Hotaru. She was saying nothing and of course, he saw her shaking. It was very unnoticeable but he could see it. Sighing, he looked towards Koko who nodded then finally to Ruka who felt his stare and looked up. Natsume jerked his head towards Hotaru and Ruka looked, finally frowning to see the girl shaking.

The boy stood up and walked towards Hotaru. Nobody had noticed because they were all to focused on Berry and Suzune's fight and to find out Yuki's, Yume's, and Mikan's Alice. Ruka tapped Hotaru's shoulder lightly and the girl tensed before slowly taking off her sunglasses and looking at Ruka.

Ruka's heart shattered at seeing those sad eyes…he then took an empty seat next to her and whispered, "What's wrong?"

Hotaru tensed and Ruka instantly saw her eyes flicker towards the new students. Ruka turned to them. "It's nothing Ruka…" She whispered.

Ruka turned back to her, frowning. "Please tell me Hotaru; you're one of my closest friends." He whispered back frantically. Hotaru looked at Ruka. His eyes…his blue eyes were full of worry. "Please Hotaru…"

The Ice Queen looked towards Azumi Mikan. "…That one…looks like her…" She said softly.

At that, Ruka's eyes widened. A thought ran through his head. _That Azumi Mikan girl looks like Hotaru's best friend, Sakura Mikan!_ This message, meant for Koko, was sent and said boy widened his eyes and stood up, rushing over to Natsume. Once again, nobody had noticed but this time, one girl did.

Mikan gave a light frown as she looked towards Natsume and Koko who whispered frantically to the fire user whose eyes then widened in shock. A faint whisper of the Special Star boy caught her attention.

"Azumi Mikan looks like her…?"

It was a very small whisper. She knew this as nobody else had heard but Mikan knew that Berry, Suzune, Yuki, and Yume had most definitely heard. In fact, Berry and Suzune had faltered in their glaring contest for just a moment before they rushed back in but both thinking of something else while Yuki and Yume looked at each other with questioning eyes.

**~.~.~**

Berry looked at the paper in her hands before putting them down and searching the room once more. She gave an irritated sigh as she felt her skin itch up a bit from the leather gloves she wore and she had that immense wanting to just rip them off.

But she wouldn't.

Her eyes trailed over the slightly trashed room as she gave a small curse. _Where the fuck is it?_ She asked to no one in particular. Then she tensed up as she felt someone coming close…close…SHIT!

Instantly, she reached inside her and she felt a strange tingling feeling in her. She looked down at her body to see it disappearing and in a matter of seconds, just right after she was completely gone, somebody came into the room.

Berry's nearly gasped but covered her mouth as she found herself staring into black eyes behind a pure white mask. Instantly, she thought of a name. _Persona!_

The man looked around as though looking for something and for an instant, Berry was glad she was invisible but then suddenly, he turned his head towards her and stared. Berry froze.

It felt as though he was staring right at her…right at her soul but she knew it was impossible. She was invisible…right? But those eyes…it was like as if they knew somebody was here…somebody…was searching…

After what seemed like hours, Persona finally looked away and slowly left the room. Berry felt herself loosen up as the doors closed and a few minutes later, she let herself be seen once more. She cursed again as she looked around the room.

_Now…they'll know someone was looking for something…_She thought and instantly turned towards the window, opening it, and then jumping over the edge to the outside world. _Now it'll be harder to find information…shit…_

Meanwhile, Mikan was staring at a small…plushy…bear. Yume looked over Mikan's shoulder and took a hold of the girl's hand. "Come on Mikan; let's go! That little bear doesn't seem to like us…"

And indeed it was true. The bear didn't seem to show any type of emotion and it's small black eyes was staring at the two girls with such intensity and immediately, it scared the two girls.

But Mikan wouldn't back down.

Instead, the girl stepped forward…then suddenly, she dashed forward, her eyes all sparkly and her arms flung open as she cried, "KAWAII~"

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?" Yume cried; her eyes sticking out in shock at her friend as Mikan rushed towards the bear. Suddenly, Yume saw a flash of evilness in those small black eyes and she froze. Then next thing she knew, the bear was in an uppercut punch position while Mikan was soaring high in the sky. Yume looked at Mikan who was now flying and she paled as she then looked at the little stuffed bear who then turned to her. "…K…K…K…"

At that moment, Mikan crashed to the ground with a oomph and was still. Yume was teary eyed at that point and she opened her mouth, letting out a terrified scream. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!" And thus, she fainted.

The little bear only stared at the two before going back to the cottage behind him, grabbing an axe in front of the house, and proceed with what he was doing earlier, chopping wood. However, he stopped when he heard rustling of leaves and turned to see the bushes were indeed rustling. He froze but then relaxed as he saw who it was.

"Yo, Bear; long time no see."

Bear placed his axe down and rushed over to the dark blue haired teen who smiled as he extended his hands forward and patted Bear's head. Bear looked up, as though hoping for some news. The boy smiled. "Oh, if you're wondering about Kaname, he's doing fine. He has stopped using his Alice for a bit so there's still life left in him." The teen said smiling.

A sense of relief seemed to have gone over the area. It was at that moment, the boy noticed the two unconscious girls and he blinked.

"…Huh…?"

**~.~.~**

Mikan slowly opened her eyes, greeting the bright light that surrounded her and she gave a soft groan. Then suddenly, she heard a chuckle and she quickly snapped her eyes open and sat up. "Who's there?" She cried, not liking the head ache that came from her rushed actions.

"Hey, no worries; I brought you in here while you were unconscious. You should have some water." Mikan looked to the side to see an older boy walking towards her. He seemed to be at least three or four years older. He handed her a glass of water and she gladly accepted.

"Thank you." Mikan muttered.

The boy grinned. "No problem~ anyway, my name's Tsubasa, Andou Tsubasa; who are you if I may ask?"

Mikan giggled at the teen. "I'm Sa-" she immediately stopped herself and said, "I'm Azumi Mikan." Even though Azumi Mikan was indeed her real name, she was much rather used to the other name thanks to her non-related grandfather.

Tsubasa lifted a brow but said nothing. "Well then, it's a pleasure to meet ya. Oh, your friend here fainted too; is there any particular reason?" He asked as he then looked to Yume who was sleeping soundly by Mikan.

The girl sighed. "Probably because of that super scary and cute be-IT'S HERE!" She screamed as she suddenly saw Bear walking towards them with several cups of what seemed like hot cocoa on a tray. With the yell, Yume suddenly jerked awake.

"W-What's going on?" She asked as she looked around. Then she caught site of Bear who had that same evil twinkle in its eye and she screamed. "GET THAT SCARY BEAR AWAY FROM ME!" She cried, scrambling to get away from Bear.

At that statement, Tsubasa laughed as Bear placed the tray on a table near the bed. "Don't worry; Bear's actually really nice." He said with a laugh.

The two girls stared at him with an 'are you crazy' look in their eyes before sighing. Yume stepped off the bed she and Mikan were occupying and walked over to Bear and knelt down in front of him.

"…Hi…umm…" She said softly. Her eyes looked at Bear as Bear looked back. Suddenly, a dark glint appeared in his eyes and Yume gasped and she lost her balance, falling over. "Ouch!"

The other two humans sweat dropped while Bear only continued to stare at Yume. Yume whimpered as she looked back at Bear.

Mikan turned to Tsubasa. "Oh, by the way, this is Soma Yume. She's a really close friend of mine."

Tsubasa smiled at Yume. "Nice to meet you; I'm Andou Tsubasa."

Yume quickly got up and away from Bear before smiling at Tsubasa. "It's nice to meet you too Tsubasa-san." Then she looked around. "Where are we anyway?" She asked. The older teen gave a grin.

"This is Bear's cottage house."

Yume and Mikan quickly turned to him with shocked looks. "E-EH?"

"Yup!"

Yume and Mikan looked at each other with shocked looks before turning to Bear who suddenly, stared at them with another dark glint. "KYAAA!" The two cried, grabbing each other with tears running down as Bear continued to stare at them with that evil glare.

Tsubasa only blinked and looked back between the two, confused. "Huh…?"

Meanwhile, Suzune was frowning, his eyes set above him at the Sakura tree that was not yet in bloom as it was only the middle of November and nearing Christmas in a month and a few weeks. The boy's sea blue eyes then darted to the sky as he gave a noiseless sigh before he froze and quickly turned to see…Natsume.

Suzune frowned as did Natsume and the two glared at each other.

"Who is that Azumi Mikan?" Natsume asked.

At that, Suzune raised a brow in slight confusion. "What do you mean? Mikan is Mikan. That's who she is. And since it seems we are asking questions here, I have one for you as well. What did you mean when you asked that mind-reader boy, Azumi Mikan looks like her?" He asked while Natsume's eyes widened in shock before the shock disappeared.

"I don't know how you knew what I whispered in that noisy place…but why should I tell you?" Natsume asked.

The other boy gave a chuckled. "True; I have no right to demand an answer from you. But I was just curious. If you do not wish to tell me, then fine. I really don't care. But then that means I won't tell who Mikan really is."

Natsume glared darkly. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it means, Hyuuga… You know…your father is much kinder that you are. I wonder where you got that attitude from." Suzune said, a smirk on his face before turning around and walking away, leaving a now stunned Natsume who shook his head furiously and glared hotly at Suzune.

"How the hell do you know my father?" He cried.

Suzune looked back with what could be classified as a devious smirk. "Now…why should I tell you? You have no right to demand an answer from me."

"But I can force you to tell me!" Natsume cried, his hands suddenly bursting into flames.

Suzune turned to Natsume, his smirk now gone and replaced by a frown. "Don't try to fight me; you'll only lose."

"Don't give me that crap!" The fire caster cried as he started to lose his patience. He rushed forward, releasing his burning flames at the silver-blue haired boy.

That boy only sighed and looked up, now having a dark glint in his eyes before he rushed forward. At that moment, Natsume's eyes widened when he saw not only the glint but now, the other's hand bursting into bright blue flames.

Still, the crimson eyed boy did not falter and lunged forward, aiming a punch at the boy while, the other raised an arm and in an instant, he grabbed Natsume's arm and suddenly, a blast of wind rushed from them from the force of the impact. Natsume's eyes stared at Suzune's which were impassive. "Like I have said…" Natsume blinked. "You should not try and fight me." Then Suzune released Natsume's arm and he stepped back, turning and leaving.

Natsume was still. He looked at his arm, shocked to see no burns from the other's flames. "Oh," Natsume looked up to see Suzune looking back with a much kinder smile. "Your father is doing well. We came here to rescue Aoi." Then he disappeared from sight.

"…Aoi…" Natsume whispered as his eyes widened with shock. _They're…going to rescue…Aoi…?_

A rather tense silence passed over the boy before he cursed and slammed a fist to a tree. "DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP!" He screamed, his voice echoing over the area as another thought entered his mind. _I never saw one bit of proof of Aoi being here! What makes that guy think he can find a damn proof? What makes him think he can find my sister?_

Then, with another curse, he slid to the ground, his eyes being shielded by his dark black bangs. He clenched his fist, hitting the ground once before a frustrated sigh escaped his lips.

"Aoi…" He whispered, that feeling of guilt and shame overcoming him as he continued to curse and curse the school with all his heart.

…

…

…

"Hyuuga-kun…?"

Natsume instantly lifted his head, only to have his eyes widen slightly to see Azumi Mikan staring at him with those dull brown eyes. She looked confused and she had several bruises on her skin but other than that, she was completely fine.

He gave the girl a glare. "What do you want?"

Mikan huffed. "Geez; I just heard you and Suzune arguing so I came by to cheer you up! You are such a jerk Hyuuga-kun!" Mikan said, turning away with her eyes looking bitter.

The fire caster only tched but still Mikan did not move from her spot. "Why aren't you leaving?" He asked dully and Mikan flinched. Instantly, he saw her becoming nervous as she tried to find what words to say and he shook his head in annoyance. "Just get the hell away from me." He muttered darkly.

Mikan turned to him, her lips pressed together that they looked like a thin line. "You know, you can try to be nice." She said.

"And explain to me; why should I be nice to you?" Natsume asked, his crimson red eyes boring into her own.

The girl sighed. "Because then you can get more friends and you will be able to smile more often." Natsume, about to retort back, froze as he heard those words…they…were so familiar…so, so familiar… He looked at Mikan who only then sat beside him and smiled. "See; when somebody smiles, you just can't help but smile back!" She said, trying to prove her point but wasn't really succeeding.

"…I don't care about being happy. It's a stupid emotion." He said.

Mikan frowned. "It's not. Being happy…it can show others how you really feel. Being happy…being sad…being angry…anything! All those emotions are what makes up a human being!" She said happily as her smile returned. "I learned that from my jii-chan! He taught it to me after he recovered!"

_Re…covered…?_ Natsume thought. _What does she mean?_

But apparently, Mikan seemed to have realized what she had said for she paled and covered her mouth quickly. Slowly, her head turned to Natsume and she quickly gave a high-pitched giggle. "Umm…p-please forget what I just said!" She cried before she turned and ran away.

Natsume stayed still, wondering what she meant before he narrowed his eyes. _Those five...are suspicious...they can't be trusted..._

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><p>Kura: And scene! I hope this was okay…I think it kinda sucked...<p>

Berry: …

Mikan: I sure it was fine! :D

Kura: I LOVE YOU MIKAN! *hugs Mikan*

Mikan: ehehehehe *hugs back*

Berry: …please review…

Kura: And sorry again for late update. T-T I hope you can all forgive me :) Brr...I'm cold. *goes to find a jacket to wear*

Berry: Oh, and sorry for grammatical errors. For some reason, our computer can't tell us if it's wrong or not...


	7. Ability Class

Kura: Hi everybody...okay, I know that I am a terrible person for not updating...even though it's summer...but I seriously did not know what to write for this chapter! DX luckily, I managed...T^T And then there's Angels and Demons where I want to make a manga for that but it's so damn hard! DX

Berry: ...no excuse.

Kura: ...T^T

Berry: Anyway, before we begin, it'll be like always, review replies.

_**blackcat1437: **__Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive meeeeeeee! T^T I'm so terribly sorry for updating so late! T^T I was so happy when you reviewed but I had nothing at the time and now I'm angry at myself! DX SORRY! T^T But anyway, I'm really glad that you like the story so far :) I really hope that you also enjoy this chapter :) Please do ENJOY! XD_

_**Princess Mei Mikan: **__SORRRRRYYYYY! T^T And thank you for being so understanding! XD I'm seriously sorry. Anyway, besides from that, thank you for reviewing and I'm really glad that you liked the chapter :) I really hope that you will also enjoy this one so please, ENJOY! XD_

Kura: Okay then! I'm glad that I had reviews! XD

Berry: ...only two.

Kura: IT DOESN'T MATTER!

Berry: Kura will never own Gakuen Alice.

Kura: ...Anyway, please enjoy everybody! XD

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><p><strong>Chapter 6-Ability Class<strong>

Sumire was upset…no…she was more than upset. She was furious. For the past week, she has been trying to find out the Alices of the new students and yet they refused to show her, let alone tell her what they could do!

Her eyes glared at the five students who were ignoring her glares or just didn't feel it. She felt like her mind was going crazy from not knowing what they could do! And she would do whatever she could to find out what Alices the five had, no matter what! Even if she had to do something extreme!

Then, as if the Heavens were granting her wish, Narumi looked to the five students with a smile on his face before he asked, "Haruno-chan, Haruno-kun, Soma-chan, Soma-kun, and Azumi-chan; can you please tell me your Alices so I know which Ability class I have to assign you all in?"

Everybody's attention was suddenly grabbed, with the exception of Hotaru, Natsume, and Ruka. However, it seemed as though Natsume and Ruka were only slightly interested. Sumire on the other hand, was thanking the gods in her mind as she cast a look at the five students who looked unsure of showing the entire class their Alices.

Finally Mikan had smiled and said, "I guess it is bad to keep secrets. Okay then!"

"I'll go first!" Yuki cried and he jumped into the air. Then he held out his hands and all of a sudden, a strange blast burst from his hand and slammed against the wall while at the same time, something seemed to have cut Narumi's cheek for he was now freaking out over his bleeding cheek. "…Opps…" Yuki said sheepishly while Berry bonked his head which seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

"Idiot. We told you to be careful how many times already…" Suzune muttered before he took a look at the class and sweat dropped. Everybody was staring at Yuki with awe, as though he were some sort of God. "…Right…" He muttered before he stood up. "As you can see, Yuki's Alice is Wind. He can control the wind currents around him and even make himself go into the air."

Again, everybody stared at the childish boy with awe while that very boy didn't care for the attention he gained.

Then Yume jumped to the air too with a smile on her face. "My turn!" She said excitedly before she held out her hands. Not wanting to get hurt like how Narumi did, everybody backed away while Natsume looked with slight interest after seeing Yuki's Alice. Yume grinned and she pulled back for a moment before she threw something that could be a punch but instead, ice shards appeared and threw themselves at the wall.

Everybody nearly screamed at the shock of not seeing the ice shards but seeing her own body becoming ice itself and her hands missing. Berry sighed at this and said, "Yume, you went too far…"

Yume blushed and sighed. "Sorry…" Then her hand started to return from the ice that formed it first and it slowly regained to its rightful state. "At least I didn't hurt Narumi-sensei like baka Yuki did."

"HEY!" Yuki cried as Yume glared at her little brother. He grumbled angrily but said nothing more.

"Well, now you know that she has the Ice Alice" Suzune muttered.

Mikan laughed at the simple relationship the two twins had before Berry stood up and she stopped. Berry too held out her hand but instead, a dead rose was held in her hands. It had lost its color and looked completely dehydrated. Everybody looked at it in confusion before the flower suddenly bloomed back to life, the beautiful red now tainting the pale petals and the green leaves lush in the color of green. Berry looked at Narumi who too looked shocked. "I have the Alice of life…not healing. I can stop death and overcome it." She whispered. "But I can also take away that life." And then the rose suddenly started to wither away, turning to dust.

Everybody shivered at that while Narumi and Natsume shivered, both being terribly reminded of Persona's Alice.

But then Berry smiled. "But I would never do that…I hate killing. I hate death, even though I don't fear it." Then she sat down and the room was silent. "So don't expect to see me use my Alice again."

Then Suzune stood up. He sighed. "I don't really want to show my Alice or anything but whatever." Then he held out his hand and suddenly, something appeared in his hand. It was a staff of strange inscriptions, design, and material. Everybody looked confused and Suzune said, "I have the Alice of Imagination or whatever you want to call it. Whatever I think of, I can make it come true. Or rather, I can make it appear. Like flames that don't burn or a gun that doesn't shoot bullets. However, because of the unstableness of my damn Alice, I often have to stop my emotions. My emotions control my Alice..." Then he sat down.

Natsume's eyes narrowed. S_o those were the blue flames he had that time!_ He thought before he turned to Mikan who had stood up.

She gave a smiled before she said, "My Alice isn't special like these four but they say it helps them a lot." She blushed. "Well, my Alice is Nullification. I can nullify anybody's Alice and stop them from using it completely and stop them from attacking anybody I want to protect."

At those words, everybody looked slight shocked before Sumire cried, "That's impossible! I heard of Nullification and even though it's rare and all…it can only protect the stupid user! You can't stop anybody Alice's when it's used against somebody else but you!"

Mikan turned to Sumire before she giggled. "Who do you think is helping these four control their Alices from all of you?" She asked with a small smirk. "Yuki would be cutting everything, Yume would have an Ice body or would've froze you all to death, Berry would've actually killed you all and bring you back to life every time and Suzune...well he just said that it depends with his emotions and he can get pissed pretty quickly."

At those words, everybody gulped before Berry glared at Mikan. "Don't reveal too much baka."

Suzune also glared at her. "And I do not get pissed quickly." He said in a pissed tone.

The other girl smiled sheepishly. "But Permy was annoying me by saying my Alice was pathetic!" She said in a whiny voice before Suzune flicked her forehead and she groaned at the slight pain. "Meanie!" She cried as Suzune only rolled his eyes at the girl. "And you're getting pretty angry right now Suzune!"

Yume sighed before she turned to Narumi. "Then, Narumi-sensei; which Ability class will we go to?" She asked as Narumi snapped out of his dazed state and with a sheepish chuckle, he nodded and looked at all the five.

"Okay then, it seems that you four can only really control your Alices because of Mikan-chan's...Nullification Alice. I suppose that puts you four in the Dangerous Ability...although, I'm not entire sure about Suzune's-"

"I will not be separated from Berry, no matter how annoyed she makes me."

"Aw, I hate you too, dear brother."

Narumi and the class sweat dropped." Right...and then Mikan-chan can go to the Special Ability Class because of her Nullification." He said with a smile as Mikan smiled back at him. However, the other four looked less than pleased.

The other four had scowls on their faces before Yuki asked in a loud voice, "Why are we getting separated from Mikan? I don't want to!" He cried as Yume too began to protest loudly.

Narumi looked flustered and scared of the two twins now as he backed away while the air in the room started to get chilled and the wind started to pick up. Everybody else backed away from the twins whose Alices started to get out of control before Mikan placed her hands on their shoulders gently. Yuki and Yume turned to her and Mikan smiled. "Hey, don't worry. It's not like I'm not going to see you ever again, right?" Then she leaned forward and whispered, "This might also be a good chance to get into the ESP's personal circle and find a way to send information to the others and even save Gakuen Alice."

At those words, the twins froze, their eyes looking shocked with realization before they pouted and muttered an okay to the other girl who smiled at the twins. Then Yuki looked at Mikan. "You'll be okay without us?" He asked softly.

Mikan blinked. That shocked her for a bit, knowing that the four were mostly there to accompany her as well as protect her. A kind smile appeared on her lips as she was about to reply back but Berry stopped her. Mikan turned to look at Berry who smiled softly. "Be safe…okay?"

The girl blushed slightly and smiled before the other four turned to Narumi, asking for the way. Narumi then looked at Natsume, telling him to take them to their new class. Natsume only tched in annoyance before standing up and headed to the door with the four following him. He stopped for a moment though and turned to look at Mikan who blinked confusingly.

He narrowed his eyes before leaving the classroom.

Mikan shivered. She knew…he was suspicious…

"Now then…ummm…ah; Hotaru-san, can you and Yuu-kun show Mikan where the Special Ability class is?" Narumi asked and Mikan turned to the two students.

Then she blinked, staring at Hotaru who seemed to have stiffened from the innocent question. Her eyes weren't shown and she wasn't saying anything. Ruka looked at her, worried and knowing what was wrong while Yuu looked at her, worried as well. Then Yuu said, "Ah, Imai-san; I can take her there myself. You don't have to-"

"I'll go. You stay." Hotaru said, standing up.

Yuu blinked. "H-Huh?"

"I'll take…Azumi there." Hotaru said, looking at Narumi and ignoring Ruka's confused and worried gaze.

Narumi nodded and then smiled at Mikan. "Okay then; just follow Hotaru-san, okay?"

Mikan smiled. "Sure." Then Hotaru walked out of the room silently while Mikan followed with a skip in her steps. The room was quiet as soon as they walked out, bewildered and confused by the Alices just shown and the actions of Imai Hotaru.

Back to the two girls, Mikan was humming as the two continued on their way. Along the way, Mikan looked out of a window from the hall to see her friends and Natsume walking the opposite direction. Curiosity sparked inside her and she asked, "Ne, Imai-san, do you know-"

"Don't call me that…"

"Eh?" Mikan looked at Hotaru in confusion. However, Hotaru seemed to realize what she said and blushed deeply before looking away from her. "I hate the san, kun, and chan stuff unless I'm doing it…just call me Imai."

Mikan blinked in confusion but nodded. "Okay then…Imai…eto…do you know where the Dangerous Ability class is?"

Hotaru stopped, momentarily confused from the question and turned to stare at the girl with a hard stare. "What?" Mikan prepared to repeat her question but Hotaru stopped her. "Why do you want to know where that class is?" She asked. Then before Mikan could answer, Hotaru shook her head. "Nobody knows where it is. Only the DA class knows." She said before she turned and continued on their way.

"…Oh…" Mikan muttered in disappointment. She had hoped to pop into the class and scare her friends…if they could be scared. Then she sighed and followed Hotaru.

The rest of the trip was…uneventful. Hotaru completely ignored Mikan and Mikan wasn't even paying attention to that fact. Instead, she was talking about random things like animals and bugs and such.

Then they were near. Hotaru cast Mikan a small look and her eyes widened to see Mikan stop in front of a dead bush of flowers. Mikan was touching the bush when suddenly, the bush slowly started to come to life, the flowers regaining their usual beautiful color and the leaves gaining that wonderful green hue. In fact, it seemed like the flowers looked much beautiful than before.

Mikan smiled in content while Hotaru stared with wide and shocked eyes. _How…?_ She wondered before she said, "Hurry up Azumi…"

Mikan blinked and turned, grinning. "Sure!" She said before running to catch up to the girl who now had more on her mind than she would've wished while Mikan only hummed in happiness.

_What was that? Wasn't that Haruno Berry's Alice? _Then she bit her lips, knowing that she was right. _If so, then why did Azumi have that Alice? It should be impossible! Unless…she was lying about her Alice…but why would she? There's no point of it… _She thought nothing more when they finally arrived at their destination. "Well…we're here…" She muttered.

The other girl smiled at Hotaru who blinked in surprise. "Thank you Imai!" She said before she stepped forward and knocked on the door. Hotaru said nothing but instead, a small blush appeared on her face.

That face…was just like Mikan's. There was no mistaking it! And now, she knew that this girl wasn't…normal. After all, how could she look so much like Mikan, have two Alices (unless she was lying about the Nullification), and most importantly, even have the same damn personality as her dead best friend? This was suspicious, no matter how much she didn't want it to be.

Finally, the door opened and a boy was shown. A knowing look appeared on his face while Mikan smiled happily. "Tsubasa-sempai!" She cried as the older teen before her, Tsubasa, grinned.

"Mikan! I just knew you were going to be in this class! Come on!" Then he took notice of Hotaru. "Oh, Hotaru-chan; long time no see. How's Amanatsu?" He asked. Hotaru only muttered an okay as Tsubasa grinned. "Same passive Hotaru…" He said affectionately while Hotaru glared at him hotly.

Then Mikan looked at Hotaru. "Who's Amanatsu?" She asked.

"She's a robot Hotaru-chan made." Tsubasa explained.

"That's so cool!" Mikan cried.

Tsubasa nodded. "Yups! Also…" He blinked and stared at Mikan. "Now that I think about it…Amanatsu looks exactly like you…"

"…Eh…?"

"Okay, that's enough. Here; I brought Azumi here. Bye." Hotaru said, her tone seeming irritable before she turned around and left.

Mikan stared after Hotaru, confused while Tsubasa sighed. "Anyway, come on in Mikan." He said as Mikan nodded and they stepped inside.

Soon, the whole class was introduced to the girl who was smiling so brightly. However, two were silent as they watched Mikan interact with the students. Misaki turned to Tsubasa. "Isn't it strange...her eyes color?"

Tsubasa frowned as well. "Actually, I've been thinking about that since I've met her...her eyes just doesn't seem natural...don't you think?"

Misaki nodded. "I wonder what made her eyes color become like that...it's...a bit worrisome." She said softly.

Then suddenly, Mikan popped in front of them. "What are you two talking about?" She asked cheerfully but also scaring the two that they screamed like bloody hell. Mikan fell to the floor from the scream and moaned in pain. "That hurt!" She cried as she rubbed her ears while the rest of the class was laughing.

Tsubasa and Misaki look apologetic and Tsubasa helped Mikan to her feet. "Sorry about that Mikan. You just scared us!" He said as Mikan giggled.

"Yume and Berry says I have a knack for that!" She said happily.

_Is that even a good thing?_ Tsubasa and Misaki thought while the rest of the class roared in laughter while Mikan giggled.

**~.~.~**

"So you four are the new students..." A soft but dark voice whispered.

"Yups!" Everybody in the class stared at the four, mainly Yuki who was smiling very brightly, despite the eerie silence in the classroom.

Meanwhile, Berry and Suzune were scowling and Yume was just standing there with a frown on her face. It was small but it was there. In fact, she was actually glaring at the teacher who spoke just then, Persona.

_So that's Persona...?_ She thought before she nodded. "Yeah, we're the new students. So tell me, what does this class do?" She asked.

Persona said nothing but motioned the four to sit down. Yuki immediately took up that offer while Berry, Suzune, and Yume were hesitant. Then they followed Yuki's actions and glared at the man in front of them before he held out something that made them angered: Alice Restrainers.

Yuki looked at him. "Why do we need that?" He asked innocently while the rest of the class besides a few selected smirked at the boy's idiocy.

"Why else? Your Alices are dangerous and these restrain your Alices."

"I know that but Mikan already does that job and-"

"Yuki!" Yume whispered. "Just take it!"

Yuki immediately pouted and crossed his arms. "I don't wanna." He said. The room was suddenly eerily silent while the students stared at Yuki in shock. "Those things are stupid! I don't need them!"

"Yes, you do." Everybody turned to Berry who had a sour look. "Who was it that nearly destroyed our home?"

The silver haired boy paled. "Uh..."

"I thought so. Now take it."

Yuki was hesitant before he reluctantly took one. However, Persona gave him three more, making the boy even more angered but with one glare sent to him by his sister and his friends, he had immediately shut up and pouted angrily. Then the other three accepted theirs and put them on so quickly that the others in the room wondered how they did it so fast.

Then Persona went up to the front of the room and turned back, now holding a bunch of folders. "I have missions for several of you all but for now, Black Cat, you are to go to...Hokkaido; there's something that we need you to...ah...investigate." Natsume's eyes narrowed but he grunted. Besides him, a little boy was completely silent, his eyes a little worried. Persona smiled at Natsume. "You know when to meet with me."

Berry frowned as did Suzune and Yume. Then suddenly, Persona turned to Yuki who blinked in shock. He had a sadist smile. "I would like you to accompany Natsume." He said.

"Wait, we're new students! You can't just force us to go do whatever you want right away, right?" Yume cried. "I mean...I know what these classes do...we heard from the elementary principal...but still! He said that we didn't have to start until much later and-"

"Yume, stop." Yume froze and looked at Yuki who was looking at Persona. No longer were his eyes like a child. No longer did they look innocent. They instead look like a fierce yet calm and determine creature, ready to take on with full force. "This is between him and me...it's a challenge...isn't it?"

Persona smiled. "Well, it seems like you're actually one to catch on quickly."

Yuki shrugged, his eyes never changing. "I suppose..."

The man was very silent as he stared at Yuki's determined eyes. Then Persona turned to Natsume. "Make sure he comes with you on time." He said. "You may all go." He said before he turned and left the room silently.

As soon as he left, the tension in the room disappeared...well most of it. Instead, the students all turned at the new ones. A long haired boy stepped up to them, smiling at Yuki and Suzune. "Hello, you two sure are cute for boys aren't you?" He asked. "You two could be girls!"

All of a sudden, Suzune glared at him with a dark look, making the boy step back in shock. "...Don't...call...me...a...damn...girl..." Suzune whispered darkly.

Yuki only pouted, his serious character disappeared. "I'm not a girl! I'm a man!" He cried.

The teen sweat dropped. "...Uh...right...anyway, I'm Amane Rui. I have the Curse Alice." He said sweetly. "And this is Nobara-chan and she has the Ice Alice." Immediately, he pulled a girl besides him who looked very nervous and scared.

At that, Berry and Yume quickly rushed forward and hit the boy's face with their feet. "Get away from her you freak!" They both cried.

"HEY!" Rui cried. "Nobara-chan is my sister! You can't take her from me!"

"She's shy and afraid. You didn't need to force her to introduce herself." Berry said accusingly.

Rui gasped. "Ah! You're right...I'm sorry Nobara-chan!"

"I-It's alright...R-Rui-san..." Nobara whispered before she blushed and looked at Berry and Yume with hopeful eyes.

Yume smiled. "You know, we have a friend that can cure that shyness of yours! Come with us later and you can meet her!" She said.

Nobara stared at her with wide eyes. "...I-"

"I FOUND YOU GUYS!"

Everybody was suddenly silent when the door slammed open and Mikan rushed in, panting heavily. "Berry, Suzune, Yuki, Yume, I brought some cake! You guys gotta try it! I heard it's from Central Town! The entire Special Ability class said I could give it to you...and...uh..." Mikan blinked as everybody stared at her. "...Um...am I interrupting something...?" She asked nervously.

"Who are you?" A boy, Hayate asked, his sharp eyes glaring at Mikan who did not seem to notice his glares.

"I'm Sa- Azumi Mikan!" Mikan said happily. "I'm a new transfer student! Oh, do you guys want cake too? There's enough for everybody!" She said as she counted the total amount of heads in the room.

Silence filled the room before there was a sudden growl and nearly everybody jumped. They all turned to the source of the noise to see Yuki laughing. "I want cake!" He cried before he was suddenly in front of Mikan.

Yume giggled. "I want some too Mikan!" She said as she walked over to Mikan who happily gave the two twins cake.

Rui frowned while Nobara nervously looked at Mikan. Mikan noticed her stares and smiled at Nobara. "Hi, you want some cake? It's really good!" She said happily.

Nobara blushed and looked down. However, a happy smile was on her face before she nodded and Mikan handed her a cake when suddenly a fire blasted in front of Mikan's face, making her cry out in shock.

Immediately Berry and Suzune glared at Natsume. The boy however was not affected. Instead he glared at Mikan. "How the hell did you find this place?" He asked the question that everybody wanted the answers to.

Mikan looked at Natsume, frowning slightly. "Baka. I just looked around and found you guys! Baka Hyuuga-kun!" She cried before sticking out her tongue.

A couple of seconds passed when Hayate snorted. "Pbth...the transfer just called Natsume a baka...!" He said, wanting to laugh but instead held it down. Meanwhile, Rui was doing the same. The teen, Hajime was just staring with a blank look on his face. Meanwhile, the youngest in the group seemed bothered by that before he glared at Mikan like Natsume was doing right now.

"And if you didn't want cake, you just had to say so." Mikan said before handing the cake back to Nobara with a kind smile to the girl who seemed overjoyed. Rui stepped up to her.

"You know, you're not so bad. Can I have a slice?"

Mikan beamed. "Of course!" Soon, nearly the entire class except for Natsume and Youichi had a piece. Then Mikan walked up to Natsume and smiled at Youichi. "Do you want a piece too?" She asked.

Youichi stared at her. "Go away ugly." He said.

Behind her, Yuki fell to the floor laughing while Yume sweat dropped. Mikan's smile twitched before she glared at Natsume. "You taught him that, didn't you?" She cried angrily. Natsume tched. Mikan gasped. "You...! You...! GAH!"

"I never see her get this fluttered." Berry commented while she stuck a piece of her cake into her mouth. Yume and Suzune nodded in agreement while Yuki continued to laugh. Nobara only giggled while Rui chuckled.

"She's...interesting." He said.

Hajime just nodded in agreement while Hayate laughed with Yuki.

Meanwhile, Youichi still accepted the cake. Mikan looked at Natsume. "Do you want?" She asked.

Natsume looked at her. "No."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Mikan sighed. "Fine...I guess...but you're missing out! The cake is really good-"

"I hate sweet things."

"EH? HOW COULD YOU?" Mikan, Yuki, and Yume cried out all at the same time. "SWEETS ARE THE BEST!" They all cried.

"No it's not." Berry and Suzune replied.

Then the three immediately got into a heated argument with the reluctant twins while the DA members watched from the sidelines as they all munched on their cakes.

"You know...I actually like these five."

"By the way, why did the girl say she was a transfer? Isn't she just a new student?" Hayate asked.

Nobara looked at him before she said shyly, "M-Maybe...she just made a mistake...?" She stated, trying to stand up for Mikan.

Natsume tched. "She's just an idiot." He said while Youichi simply munched on his cake, not even paying attention to the outside world and only paid his entire attention to the mouth watering cake.

"Why aren't you eating any cake?" Hajime asked.

"I don't want." Natsume said in a 'and that's final' tone.

"Hmm..." Hajime stuck another piece of cake into his mouth. "But I wonder...how did she get here? Wasn't there this Alice that prevents anybody that's not in the DA class to come in?" He asked to no one in particular but definitely got the original class's attention.

Rui frowned but then looked at Mikan. "Anyway, you said your name was Mikan-chan, right?" The five stopped their arguing, to Berry's and Suzune's relief, and looked at Rui. "Which Ability class are you in and why did you come here...or was it just because of the cake?"

Mikan smiled. "I'm in the Special Ability and yes, it was because of the cake. Oh, what Alice do the rest of you all have?" She asked excitedly. "I have the Nullification Alice so it's not really much."

But instead of answering, Rui stared. "Wait...that must be how she got into this class!" He said.

Nobara smiled at Mikan. "That's an amazing Alice M-Mikan-chan..."

Mikan smiled happily. "Thanks! You're Nobara-chan right? Such a pretty name! You're so pretty too! Oh, what's your Alice?"

All of a sudden, the girl looked down, nervous. But Yume popped in and said, "Same as mine!"

"Eh? You have the Ice Alice?"

"Eh?" Everybody but Natsume and the new students looked at Yume in shock. "Y-You have...the same as me...?" Nobara asked Yume.

Yume grinned. "Yups! But it might be a bit different..." She said.

"Yume can change her body to Ice! I can change my body to Wind!" Yuki said.

Hayate stared at Yuki. "You have the same Alice as me? But you can change to wind...? Wow! How is that even possible?"

"Here's an example, wait, Yuki just punch me." Yume said.

Yuki nodded before he stepped forward and punched her sister in the gut. Everybody but the Haruno twins and Mikan gasped when Yuki stepped back to see that Yume was not injured in any way and that her body...suddenly had an icy hole that was slowly rebuilding itself with the ice. "Basically, my whole body is Ice while Yuki's whole body is Wind." She said.

"That's so...cool..." Hayate said in shock while Yume's body turned back to normal.

"Oh, I just remembered; Berry, I met up with Narumi-sensei and he said that in the next class day...which is Monday...that he will assign us to partners." She said.

Berry frowned. "Partners...?"

"I honestly have no idea..." Mikan said, frowning as well before she brightened up. "Oh, I have to go! I promised Tsubasa-sempai that I'll talk to Bear-"

"EH? You're going to talk to that scary thing?" Yume asked, shock in her eyes.

Mikan sighed. "Sadly...yes...I promised..." She said before the two shuddered.

Nobara looked at Mikan. "W-Who is Bear...M-Mikan-chan...?" She asked.

"He's this really scary but super cute plushie bear in the forest." Mikan said. Suddenly, Youichi looked up, his eyes showing interest. "You want to come with me, Nobara-chan?" She asked.

Nobara looked at Rui who looked at bit annoyed that Nobara was being stolen by Mikan but nodded. "You can go Nobara-chan...you always wanted a friend, right?" He asked.

Then Nobara touched his arm and looked at him. "You'll still be...my sister...you're still...my family..." She whispered. At that, Rui smiled and then Nobara smiled shyly back. Then he pushed her to Mikan. "Okay M-Mikan-chan..can I come?" She asked.

Mikan grinned. "Sure!" Then she turned to Yume. "You want to come?" She asked.

"NO!"

Mikan sweat dropped as Yume hid behind Berry who too had a sweat drop. "...Okay..." She said when she suddenly felt a pull from her skirt and turned to see Youichi staring at her. "W-What?" She asked as she was already wary of the little boy.

"...Bear...?" He asked.

Mikan blinked and looked into his eyes. She smiled before she nodded. "Do you want to see Bear too?" She asked. Youichi was silent before he turned to look at Natsume who was frowning at Mikan But then the boy saw Youichi's stare and sighed before smiling. Youichi gave a small smile before he nodded at Mikan. "Okay then! Let's go!" She said to Nobara and Youichi.

The three left while the rest stayed behind. Yuki turned to Yume. "...A scary...plushie bear...?" He asked in a mocking tone and a cat grin.

His sister glared at her. "She hit Mikan who flew up like fifty feet into the air. Of course I'd be scared! And the thing was just a foot tall!"

Meanwhile, outside, far from Mikan's, Nobara's, and Youichi's view, Persona stepped out of the shadows. His mask was still on, giving a soft glow and his black lips itched into a smiled. "...Azumi Mikan...Nullification Alice..." He whispered before he stepped back into the shadows and far from sight.

* * *

><p>Kura: And that's the ending! And again, really sorry for not updating in a LONG time! DX<p>

Berry: Before we end, we would just like to say, please look at our poll.

Kura: Yes, I made new stories and it seems pretty stupid when I should be working on the ones already online but I just want to see which one people would like to read! But if you don't want to, then it's alright. But it will be mighty appreciated! XD

Berry: Please review.

Kura: BYE!


	8. Mission

Kura: Hiya everybody! :D I updated faster than usual! XD

Berry: Nine days.

Kura: ...THAT'S BETTER THAN THE OTHER CHAPTER!

Berry: :p

Kura: Hmph, anyway, let's go to reviews! :D

_**DEVllishAngel00: **__Hehehe, I'm glad it's getting interesting for you! And yes...he did smile...:D And who knows :P I certainly don't...do I...? Anyway, thanks for the review and please enjoy this chapter! XD_

_**Guest: **__Thank you for reviewing and sorry but I have no idea what to call you...so guest you are! :D Anyway, that is something that will have to be figured out! XD So please enjoy this chapter and again, thank you for reviewing! XD_

_**Iarepiggie: **__Well here ya go! XD Thanks for the review and ENJOY! XD_

_**Karate Bookworm: **__*wince* Y-Yeah...:D Thanks for the review and I really, really hope you enjoy this chapter! :D_

Kura: ...

Berry: ...Hehe, that last one was right :)

Kura: ...A-Anyway, I-

Berry: Kura will never own Gakuen Alice so don't even think about it.

Kura: ...um...LET'S START! XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>**-Mission**

Natsume glared from behind his mask, his crimson eyes glaring at the silver haired boy who was looking around with awe, his dark blue eyes shining with excitement. "Woah! I can't believe we're in a cool forest! And it's behind the school!"

Suddenly, a loud hoot made the boy jump and he screamed, making Natsume take a step back in shock, his eyes wide. A few seconds of silence passed and a small owl flew past and Yuki sweat dropped while Natsume started to twitch in annoyance. Then Yuki quickly turned to Natsume and said, "You didn't need to be scared Hyuuga! It's just a stupid owl!" He said stupidly while having that large animated sweat drop still on his head.

At that, Natsume couldn't help but want to kill the boy.

Just when the red eyed boy was about to make his move, Persona stepped from out of the shadows and said, "Seems like you two managed to make it on time..."

Natsume tched, disappointed he wasn't able to do what he desired but stood his ground while Yuki ignored Persona, staring at the ground as a centipede crawled by. "Oh man! It's a centipede! My onii-chan always said that bugs are cool to watch sometimes! Unless they're doing nothing. Yume always disagrees. She says it's better if bugs are dead. I don't get why though...do you get why Hyuuga?" He asked as he turned but jumped in shock at the sight of Persona. "AH! WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?"

Persona and Natsume just stared, appalled by the boy's terrible attention span. "...Here's your mission Kuro Neko...and here's your mask...Soma...you'll be known as Shiro Tori-"

"No way! I don't wanna be an animal!" Yuki interrupted rudely as he huffed angrily. "If it's an animal, it should at least be a fox!" He cried.

"...Why a fox?" Natsume asked.

Yuki stared at him as though he were crazy. "Why else? Cause the Kyuubi from Naruto is awesome!"

At that, the other two stared at the boy who managed to make a horribly serious conversation into a ridiculous talk of anime. Natsume glared. "That is such a stupid reason." He snarled darkly before he then added, "And besides, Sasuke is probably gonna beat that idiotic Naruto." He said. "Even Madara managed to control the Kyuubi with his sharingan, no doubt Sasuke will be able to."

Persona stared at Natsume.

"No way! Naruto's gonna beat Sasuke! And bring that idiot back to the village cause even though he's a jerk, he's still Naruto's nakama! That's the reason why the manga's called Naruto! It's because he's a good guy and he's gonna win, idiot! You're an idiot!" Yuki cried, sticking his tongue out.

Natsume scoffed. "The sharingan is an amazing ability. And the dobe has nothing but the stupid Kyuubi! I'll admit that fox is strong. But he clearly fell against Madara's sharingan! And I know that Naruto's the good guy. I'm just saying that Sasuke is, at the moment, stronger than Naruto!"

"No way! That's like you're saying Luffy will never see Sabo again!"

"Of course he won't...cause Sabo's dead! He died ten years before Luffy became a pirate!"

"Shut up! He's alive! There's proof!"

"Yeah right."

"There is! In the show! When Dragon went back to the ship, Iva-chan said that this: you're hurt and he said that he needed to go inside but Dragon never went inside, even though some people were obviously taking somebody away! That proves that Sabo's alive!"

"First of all, maybe nobody went inside, or they ran inside to grab some medicine for Dragon. Second, even if Dragon was carrying somebody, it might've not even been Sabo, you dolt!"

"SABO'S ALIVE! AND NARUTO WILL WIN!"

"NO HE'S-"

"ENOUGH!"

Natsume and Yuki turned their heads quickly to see Persona looking flustered and angry as he then handed the mask to the silver haired boy. "W-What?"

"Take the mask, you can get another one next time. Take this mission information." He then handed a thin folder at Natsume. "Go on your mission and stop talking about goddamn anime where the characters DON'T EVEN EXIST!" Persona yelled before he straightened up, turned, and left, muttering darkly under his breath.

Natsume and Yuki blinked before they both looked at the stuff handed to them. Then Yuki pouted. "I said I wanted a fox..."

The other boy turned away, a small smile on his face before he said, "...Not bad, nobody's been able to get that guy this angry before."

Yuki grinned. "My onii-chan says I have a knack for that!"

Kuro Neko stared. _Is that even a good thing...?_

"Anyway, what do we have to do?" Yuki asked as he stared at his mask, pondering how to put it on as he began to look at it from the front. He poked his finger through the eye holes and grinned like a little boy who had just gotten a new toy for Christmas.

Natsume stared silently before slowly opening the folder. As he was doing so, he began to walk towards the entrance to the academy with Yuki following behind him. "We have to find this girl that was found to have an Alice. Apparently...it's..." Natsume became silent and Yuki blinked, putting a hold on his little play time with his mask and looked at Natsume.

"...Hyuuga?"

"...The girl destroyed her hometown without meaning to. She's just six and her Alice is the Alice of lightening."

"Woah, never heard of something like that. I mean, sure there's those who can do things with electricity but to truly control electricity...impressive...like Enel from Skypeia."

"Okay, that's enough of manga references."

Yuki grinned. "Okay~"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "And put on your damn mask!"

"Fine, but I don't know how."

Natsume stared with an 'are you serious' look before he groaned. Then he grabbed the mask, pulled on the string on the sides, slapped the mask on Yuki's face and tied the strings behind his head, tangling it in the boy's silver locks.

"Ow! That hurt! You jerk!"

The other ignored him before he looked back at the picture of the girl. Her purple eyes stared right back at him, a smile on her face as she held the hands of her now...dead parents. The boy sighed before he muttered, "Let's hurry."

Yuki grumbled but agreed and the two ran to the entrance, the gates wide open and the two dashed out instantly, not leaving a trace that they were even there.

**~.~.~**

"Ace!"

A boy with dark blue eyes and black hair jumped out of his bed as his name boomed around the room. he fell to the floor, instantly waking him from his nap by his name being called out and he cried out, "WHAT'S GOING ON?"

"You awake yet, idiot?"

The boy, Ace looked up and growled darkly at the older boy in front of him. "What the hell do you want Daisuke?"

Sky blue eyes twinkled and the older teen laughed as he helped Ace up. "Hey, oyaji wants you." He said with a smile as Ace groaned. Daisuke grinned. "Don't look at me, oyaji's the one that needs to talk with ya."

Rolling his eyes, Ace groaned again. "Damn it. Oh well, it's oyaji...I can't say no to him." He said as he started to stretch. "What does he want to talk to me about anyway?" He asked as he started to leave the room with Daisuke following him.

"Honestly, I have no idea." The older boy said. "But I think it's about this area in Hokkaido. If it's what I think it is, there's somebody with an extremely strong Alice..."

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Then...the Academy..."

"Yeah. We're lucky that they're there for now but we can never be sure if they can stop those mission right away. For now, we also have to do the best we can to protect children with Alices before those bastards from the Academy even capture them." Daisuke said, his sky blue eyes darkening as Ace nodded in agreement.

Walking down a long hallway, the two soon arrived at the twenty foot door where they knew their master, their leader was waiting. They walked in and was greeted with a small sight of shock.

Before them, a girl, older than them with long dark blue hair was sobbing while their oyaji tried his best to comfort her. The two sweat dropped before Ace stepped up. "...Hazuki...? You okay...?" He asked softly when the girl quickly snapped her had up and glared at him, making the boy step back in shock.

"Oh sure, I'm okay. WHY DON'T WE JUST TELL THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD I'M FINE!" She screamed before she lowered her head once again, sobbing. "MY TWO CUTE LITTLE SIBLINGS ARE IN THE DAMN ACADEMY! STUPID OYAJI! HOW COULD YOU SEND THEM THERE?" The girl screamed, her eyes glaring at their leader who took a step back, afraid.

"O-Okay, looked h-here Hazuki-chan! Berry a-and S-Suzune suggested that they s-should go! In fact, they really wanted to!"

"LIAR!"

"Kami, Kazumi, don't get so worked up over it! I'm freaked out that those two went too! In fact, I'm freaked out that all five went! You're not the only one!" Ace cried as he put his hands on his hips and looked down at the blue haired girl. Her silver-like eyes glared at him before they softened and she started to cry once more.

"WAH! I'M SO WORRIED!" She cried as Ace began to panic.

"AH! DON'T CRY!" He cried out, his problem of crying girls resurfacing.

Meanwhile, Daisuke turned to their oyaji, or better known as Tom, and asked, "Why again did you also ask for Hazuki to come here?"

Tom sighed. "Though I really hate to admit it, these two right now have to be a team."

"WHAT?" Ace and Hazuki snapped out of their little play and turned to Tom with wide eyes. "NO WAY AM I ACCPETING HER/HIM AS MY PARTNER!" They both cried as Daisuke commented on their synced sentence.

The older man sighed again, weary. "I'm sorry but as you two know, your team are gone. Hazuki, you always worked with Suzune because even though your little brother hates to admit it, you two are the best at working together. Meanwhile, Ace, your two partners, Yuki and Berry are also gone. As a result, the two most powerful teams are now half in power. Right now, I'm just putting you two together to see how well you can work together." He said.

"B-B-B-But!" The two cried and Tom shushed them right away.

"No more! You two are going to work together!"

Ace started to boo the old man and Hazuki groaned. "I don't want to work with this kid!" She cried.

"Hey! I'm only two years younger than you!"

"That's a kid to me. Get used to it, brat!"

"WHAT THE HELL? I'LL BET I'M POWERFUL, EVEN WITHOUT YA!"

"YOU WANNA BET ON IT, GAKI!"

"ENOUGH! YOU TWO ARE WORKING TOGETHER AND THAT FINAL!"

Silence passed through everybody before Ace and Hazuki said with a small voice, "Y-Yes sir..."

Behind them, Daisuke turned away, looked at an invisible crowd and thought, _Yes, my dear people, the almighty Ace and Hazuki, getting scared because some old geezer yelled to stop fighting. Give a hand to these two..._

"Now that that's aside, we really must get to the real business at hand." Immediately, Ace and Hazuki tensed and Daisuke narrowed his eyes. Tom looked at Ace and Hazuki. "In Hokkaido, there's a young girl. Her Alice...is simply strong. Too strong and she can't control it, causing her to...kill her own parents."

Hazuki's eyes started to tear up while Ace looked away, his fist clenching. Daisuke sighed.

"We must rescue this girl before Gakuen Alice takes any action." Tom said. "That's why I need you two to go. Both of you, though your Alices are complete opposites, it'll stop who I know Persona will send out, Kuro Neko." The older man smiled as he looked at the two. "Hazuki, you having the Water Alice, being able to be like Yuki and Yume where you can get your body to even be water itself and control water." Then he turned to Ace. "And Ace...having the Fire Alice...but a different one from Kuro Neko. Being able to become fire and one with fire herself is truly fascinating. Though you children have those types of Alices, you all just care for the future generation..."

"Of course we do, oyaji!"Hazuki cried.

Ace then walked up. "Tell us more about this girl. "She's in Hokkaido right? Tell us when we must leave!"

Tom smiled. "You two, even though you may become brats once in a while," The two teens blushed while Daisuke laughed in the corner. "It's nice that you two will always care, even if you may not even know these strangers. Very well, you two will leave in half an hour. I fear that Kuro Neko has already left...Berry has yet to contact me-"

"LEADER!" They all turned to see a young teen who looked out of breath. His lavender eyes looked around before resting on Tom and the boy instantly rushed up. "Berry has contacted! Kuro Neko is already on the move! And Yuki's actually with him on the mission!" He cried.

Everybody turned to him in shock and in Ace's case, anger. "They sent out Yuki? He's just a new student! How could they? What if the Alice stone Mikan put in him runs out? That damn Alice will get out of control again! And the other Nullification stone that he has...he'll never use it! I'm going now!"

"Ace! Calm down!" Tom cried as Ace froze and turned to Tom.

"But oyaji-"

"Even though your little brother is in danger, keep a calm head or you may lose your life too!"

Silence passed and Ace clenched his fist tightly, his anger instead being poured to the floor as everybody looked back to Tom. "...oyaji..." Everybody looked at Daisuke. "...We should hurry. If we don't it could be bad for Yuki. And you know how Ace gets if Yuki gets hurt."

"H-H-Hey!" Ace cried, his face flushing as Daisuke merely grinned at him.

A sigh escaped the old man's and he nodded. "I know. Hurry, get ready and leave at once with Hazuki."

Ace looked at Tom before a grin crossed his lips and he nodded before hurrying out of the room with Hazuki following him. The lavender eyed boy turned to Tom. "...Ne...oyaji...will it really be alright with Mikan, Yuki, Yume, Berry, and Suzune being there? They're still children." He stated. "It would've been better if Tomoko, Arisa, Daisuke and I went."

"Perhaps...but the reason I sent them was because they can connect with the younger generation, the children who have not yet been corrupted by the school, Mamoru." Tom said with a small smile.

Mamoru nodded slowly before looking back to the door and sighed.

Daisuke walked up to him. "Hey, relax man. It's them. They'll be fine." He said.

"...I just hope so...otherwise, Tomoko will kill the entire school if they even harm Berry and Suzune."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Well...it is true...Tomoko is very protective over those two cousin of hers..." Daisuke said with a shudder.

**~.~.~**

"Na, Hyuuga?"

Natsume turned and looked at Yuki who was holding a small bird in his hands. It was looking at Yuki, it's small black eyes staring with a strange emotion that Natsume could not see. However, the boy merely frowned. "Put that thing down. If you leave any more of your human scent, the bird's parents will leave it."

Yuki sighed, ignoring Natsume's words. "...Don't you miss your family?" He asked.

Instantly, Kuro Neko froze and glared at Yuki. "Don't you dare mention that topic again!" He hissed darkly.

Again, the silver haired boy ignored him. "...I miss my parents too."

"I said to not mention-"

"But you're lucky you get to see your dad again in the future. I don't know who my dad is." Natsume froze at those words.

The boy he's looking at now...was different from the boy he was fighting with the night before. This boy in front of him was calm...silent...and Natsume knew that he could be deadly. "...Why are you telling me this?"

"...I just figured it would be best to know something about your partner rather than not. What if there was a man who could copy looks? What if that person took me right now and fooled you into thinking he was me?" Yuki asked before he lightly poked the bird in his hands. "...What made you come to Gakuen Alice?"

Natsume growled. "That's none of your business."

Yuki looked at him and smirked. "You really don't trust us, do you?"

"Like hell I do." Natsume said darkly before he turned around. "Just rest already. We were up all night."

The other boy smiled. "Ah, you're much kinder than you let on, aren't you Hyuuga."

Natsume glared at him, his hands burst into flames but to his surprise, Yuki laughed, let the bird go, and fell to the floor, snoring. Natsume stared, confused and bewildered before he shook his head and looked away at the rising sun.

In a hour, he kicked Yuki awake, causing the boy to jerk up and cry, "ROAR!" but Kuro Neko stared at Yuki laughed. "Ha, I said roar!" He said and Natsume groaned. "Well, let's hurry to Hokkaido...where is Hokkaido?"

"Hokkaido can be reached by train. I have some money. To the left should be Tokyo city. After all, Tokyo is much farther from Gakuen Alice than anybody really knows. After, we'll take a train to Hokkaido and find the girl." Natsume said as Yuki nodded, excitement in his eyes.

"Ne, Natsume, do you think we'll face some strong people?"

"What?"

"I wanna fight strong people!" Yuki said excitedly.

"...Why?"

"Cause it's fun."

Natsume stared at the boy before he sighed and rubbed his forehead. _Even though he's not a bad guy, being near him gives me a headache..._ He thought with annoyance as the boy behind him merely grinned broadly. "Besides from your idiocy, as soon as we find this girl, we'll have to hurry back to the Academy. We don't want Z getting in our way." He said.

Yuki chuckled. "As if that would be bad." He muttered softly, the sentence not even to be noticed by Natsume. However, Kuro Neko did and his eyes narrowed as soon as Yuki uttered those words.

_...What does he mean...?_ Natsume thought but instantly let it go, not wanting to probe into the mind that was Yuki.

"Anyway, what do you know about Z? All I really know was told to me from Yume from Suzune from Berry who was the only one who bothered to show up and meet the ESP unlike the rest of three. And apparently, Berry said that Z pissed of the ESP and that we're only existing to destroy the Z. Then Yume said that Suzune told her that Berry went on and on about how useless it was to even show up and meet him."

Natsume turned to him and stared. "...I see..." He said, wondering about the other three before he shook his head. "I don't really know much either except for the fact that they kidnap people with Alices and sell them as slaves...I think. It almost happened to me but I was saved by Ruka and Hotaru."

"Ruka? Hotaru?"

"They're...my best friends..." Natsume said with a small smile.

Instead, Yuki frowned. _Hotaru...Imai Hotaru! The girl who lost her best friend...! _"I see."

Suddenly Natsume's eyes widened and he glared at Yuki. "Speak of this to nobody! If you do, I'm gonna kill you."

Yuki grinned. "Relax, I won't!"

Natsume sighed and nodded when he suddenly thought of Yuki's friends and turned to him. Both were out of the area, now in a populated park. The station was much farther but they were getting closer...

Well...at least it was progress.

"Hey, I've been wondering..." Yuki blinked and smiled at Natsume, only humming in response. "How is it that your sister can...become ice?" He asked as he noticed Yuki suddenly stiffen. His eyes merely narrowed in response.

As for Yuki, he gulped and adverted his eyes, hoping that Natsume didn't notice his stupid mistake. "Uh...I honestly have no idea! Yume never said anything about it really. She could just do it! Yeah...t-that was it!" Immediately, he cursed himself for stuttering.

"...Oh..." Natsume frowned. _I was right...he...no they're all hiding something._

"Ah, where's the train station anyway? We should really hurry to Hokkaido!" Yuki said with a nervous grin while Natsume nodded.

"True, we should hurry."

Yuki breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that Natsume forgot about their little conversation. However, the boy didn't and for the most of their fast walk, he said nothing, merely pondering over what Yuki said and why the boy had lied. _After all...he really shouldn't. He's quite terrible at lying..._

In the next hour, the two found themselves of the XXXX train and heading towards Hokkaido. Yuki awed and whooped at the passing blurs while several adults chuckled at the silly child-like boy. As for Natsume, he had somehow taken a book out and was reading, as usual, a manga.

It was One piece.

Yuki blinked. "Hey, which chapter are you on?"

"Hm? Nah, I'm just re-reading."

"Oh...why?"

"Bored."

"Ah, well, which chapter?"

"Tch, persistent aren't you. It's chapter 430."

"Oh, that really sad chapter! The one where they gave Merry Go the Viking's death!"

"Yeah, wait, why the hell are we talking about manga. God, just shut up and let me read in peace."

Yuki pouted. "...Jerk..." He muttered before he looked back to the window.

Unknown to them, a young woman with raven black hair that reached only past her shoulder and dark eyes like hawks but in the color of red behind her sunglasses watched them. A small smile graced her lips before he lifted her wrist to her lips, her figure and action hidden by the rest of the citizens on the train.

A watch reveal itself from underneath her black sleeves after she pulled on her jacket and she pressed a button with her free hand's pointer finger. She gave a small whisper. "The little brave cats are coming home. Make sure to get them so we can bring them back. Remember, they're males so they'll be more resistant."

It was just three sentences that seemed innocent enough. However, the other person from the receiving end of that message frowned. "Males...I thought they were to be females..." He muttered instead to some sort of phone device.

The woman scowled before she gave a pissed grin. "Apparently not. Just remember to find them and get them. One is black with red and the other silver with blue. Good luck." She then said before stepping out of the shadows and sat down, her seat several seats away from the two boys, a small smirk adorning her flawless face.

Back to Natsume and Yuki, the blue eyes boy frowned before he grinned again and cried, "Look Natsume! It's a bird! It's trying to go faster than the train!"

"Sit down idiot."

However, as Yuki started his ridiculous fight with Kuro Neko, he instead thought, _So looks like there's another enemy besides the Academy...I hope that nothing too bad happens on this stupid mission..._

* * *

><p>Kura: And...the end! :D<p>

Berry: hmm...I suppose nine days was better than before...

Kura: Yeah...I'm proud of myself! XD

Mikan: Good job Kura! :D

Kura: Hehehe. Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed the chapter :D I'll try to update as quickly as I can again! XD BYE!


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